In Another Life
by littleshimmerofhope
Summary: There are two worlds. In one, Naruto and Sasuke are lovers. In the other, the two Shinobi are drifting further and further apart from each other, their bond slowly but steadily crumbling. One day the two different Naruto somehow switch places and find themselves having to face two very different ravens from what they are used to. Full summary inside! SasuNaru
1. Prologue

Hello! Welcome back to another one of my stories! This is an idea that I've been playing around with in my head for a few months now and finally decided to give a shot. I'll see what sort of response it gets and then work from there. Enjoy!

 **Full summary:**

There are two different worlds. Naruto and Sasuke are in love, happily living together in an apartment in Osaka. Naruto and Sasuke, the two shinobi of Konohagakure, have lost the bond they once shared and are drifting further and further apart. One day the two different Naruto somehow switch places and end up in each other's clothes in two new, unfamiliar places, having to face two very different raven's from what they are used to.

* * *

 **In another life  
** Prologue.

* * *

It was in the middle of the night and a faint breeze tentatively slithered between the trunks of the many trees in the silent, dense woods. The dim light of the moon was prevented from reaching the ground by the heavily clouded sky, and thus the landscape lay in shadow.

There were no sounds of animals, and only the tiniest rustle of leaves was brought along by the drifting wind.

There was nothing to indicate any sign of life, but one was not to be fooled.

Concealed by the darkness, people swiftly moved about, their feet soundless and their movements precise and polished. Sharp weapons shone dully as they caught a stray beam of the moonlight from between the clouds, and hands weaved in codes, signaling as the different groups advanced between the trees.

The air was thick with anticipation, the silence tense and telling of the clash that approached with every passing minute.

As the wind rose and journeyed between the branches it caught blonde strands of hair with it's dancing fingers and gently pulled at them as it passed by. Blue eyes closed and the man tilted his head back as he let nature caress his face.

He could almost feel the vibrations of the air against his skin, his ears picking up the imaginative sound of the many hearts thrumming inside the chests of his foes as well as his friends scattered about in the night.

He did not have a nose as keen as the Inuzuka clan, but he could pick up the tiny traces signalling that summer was approaching in the fire-country from the smell of the wind.

The thought wasn't as comforting as it was distracting.

Opening his eyes once more, Naruto stared at the clouds above him.

Any minute now.

He readied himself for the bloodbath to come by clearing his mind completely, carefully subduing his mentality like they all had learnt throughout the many years of fighting and killing, shutting off any distracting or doubting thoughts and relying solely on his own abilities and the instincts engraved into his bones from years of training and experience.

He took a breath through his nose, and after holding for three seconds let it out through his mouth.

It was another mission, another enemy, another night.

He'd done this so many times now, eradicating any obstacle hindering the completion of his missions. Tonight would be no different. The blood about to coat his hands were for the village: for the future.

 _For the future._

Those were the words he told himself to keep the guilt in check before as well as after his missions.

Naruto picked up on a small shift in the air on the ground beneath the tree he was currently standing in. The hair on his arms stood and he readied himself, shifting soundlessly into a battle-ready position, bending his knees slightly.

Any second now.

The earpiece in his ear sparked to life, the voice of the mission's captain ushering the urgent command in a quick whisper.

" _Now._ "

And Naruto jumped into action, the point of his blade cutting through flesh only moments later.

* * *

The bar was crowded now, tons of different groups and different people chatting carefree amongst each other with different glasses of different alcohol in the many different sets of hands. The glasses clinged as they met in cheers or by accident, the sound ringing brightly through the pub's music playing from the old speakers. Laughter flitted through the air and added to the hospitable and folksy feel of the small place.

Alongside one of the pub's walls, in one of the small stalls at the far side from the entrance, sat a stunning raven-haired man with one of his legs neatly crossed above the other, attentively watching the blonde man across from him with slight amusement.

One could easily tell that the blonde was highly intoxicated from a single glance – not only by the amount of emptied glasses standing proudly in front of him on the small table (compared to the single, unfinished glass of his company), but also from his flushed cheeks, lack of composure, tousled hair, the idiotic, wide grin on his face, and the way his words slurred as he spoke.

"Sss'ke, A… Another!"

He laughed, the sound bubbly and warm, as he ungracefully leaned against the table. The raven across from him laughed quietly, eyening his companion's state with doubt.

"No, Naruto. I think that's enough for tonight." He said, a soft smile adorning his lips.

"Wass'sat?" The blonde abruptly exclaimed as he straightened up with a small frown, trying to fix the man across from him with a stare, but failing miserably.

"'M celebrating th' ssstart 'f m'… veccation! I can… drink how much I'd like!" He waved a finger towards his friend, barely avoiding toppling over any of the glasses in front of him. The onyx eyes were shining amusedly as they looked at his uncoordinated actions, finding his state highly entertaining.

"I'm not buying you more." He stated simply. "Besides, don't you want to finish the glass you have already?"

He pointed at the half-finished glass of beer right under the other's nose. The unfocused blue eyes zeroed in on the glass for a few seconds before the delayed reaction came.

"Ooh!" The blonde mused, amazed by the sudden appearance of the aclohol in front of him. "S'good I have you Sasuke." He stated, grinning shamelessly at his lover from across the table, causing the raven's heart to skip a beat inside his chest.

They'd been lovers for almost two years soon, but they'd been in love with each other since long before that.

Two years ago they finally clashed and confessed their feelings for each other in the middle of a fight, and when the blonde moron across from him had shouted that he liked him – and had liked him for a long time – Sasuke had thought he had been the happiest person on the planet.

Thinking back on the two amazing years they had spent together – laughing, crying, _loving_ – Sasuke could testify that he'd been wrong back then. The blonde idiot had made him so ridicously happy on so many occations throughout their relationship that he'd lost count.

And they planned to keep making each other happy for many years to come.

Watching his boyfriend with his chin resting in his hand, Sasuke could feel his own cheeks heat slightly. He averted his eyes to the side, trying to calm his racing heart.

How the other man could still make his heart beat like a silly schoolgirl from the tiniest of things, he had no idea.

Looking around the bar, he took note of the growing mass of people. Soon the place would be really crowded – and sure, Sasuke had willingly joined the blonde on his trip to the cozy pub that evening, but he still disliked being around too many people. He decided it would be time for them to head home. Taking the blonde's high intoxication into account, it was probably for the best.

He'd had nowhere near as much to drink as Naruto and wasn't feeling the affects of the alcohol at all. He'd always handled alcohol better than the blonde, which was something he took a strange pride in. However, it also meant that he'd had plenty of mornings looking after a terribly hungover boyfriend, and by the looks of the blonde across from him, tomorrow would be another one of those mornings. (Although, in honesty, Sasuke didn't really mind them so much.)

Nudging the distracted blonde's leg underneath the table, Sasuke successfully caught his attention. Once the blue eyes were looking to him, Sasuke inclined his head towards the blonde's glass.

"Finish up, then we'll head home."

"Y'know, Sas'ke, 'm going on my veccation tomorrow!" The blonde repeated for the tenth time that evening, his words slurred and his tone slightly whiny. "I w'na c'lebrate! C'mon, pretty please could we stay?"

Sasuke avoided voicing that he thought Naruto had already celebrated enough, as proved by the mountain of glasses on their table.

Instead he tilted his head more to the side, letting his eyes bore into the endless, blue sky across from them.

"I know of a way to celebrate just the two of us." He lowered his voice, lacing his words with just enough seduction for the drunk to catch the hint. He loved the way he could see Naruto's pupils dilate slightly and his adam's apple bob as he swallowed from Sasuke's words.

"But for that –" He said, leaning back casually and crossing his arms. "We would have to go home." He fixed the blonde with a pointed stare, already aware that he'd won.

Suddenly very enthusiastic to leave, Naruto grabbed his final glass and downed it in one go, slamming it back onto the table once he was done. His blue eyes burned into Sasuke's with a hunger that sent a thrill down the raven's spine.

"Let's go." He said, his previously cloudy voice ringing strong and clear in a sudden moment of sobriety. Sasuke's lips pulled into a smirk as he reached for his coat.

"Let's go." He repeated and rose from the table.

* * *

It took a few minutes before Naruto noted that something wasn't quite right.

Suddenly the noises of the many colliding blades and shouts sounded morphed to his ears as they came drifting towards him between the trees. His heart was beating loudly in his ears and his body's movements felt slow and sluggish.

He'd taken down the group of rouge shinobi in his area without much struggle; he was, after all, one of Konoha's elite. The enemy would have had to be very formidable to give him a challenge. A few scratches and minor wounds, but nothing serious or lethal had hit him, or so he'd thought.

The nausea that had slowly crept upon him as he was heading towards the checkpoint set up by their captain where he was to await further orders had him swaying and almost coming to a halt.

When he almost lost his footing, he took support against a tree trunk and stopped. It was hard to breathe, and his entire body felt hot. Something was really wrong.

He tried to inspect his wounds further to see if there was something he had missed in the midst of the battle, but found his swimming vision making it extremely difficult to spot anything suspicious in the darkness.

His fierce heartbeat drummed so loudly in his head, causing it to ache and his thoughts to scatter, but he forced himself to concentrate.

A sudden possibility struck him. Could the kunais that had grazed him been poisoned?

Unlike one of his friends, Naruto didn't have much knowledge of medical-ninjutsu or symptoms of different kinds of poisons. Such rarely affected him because of the demon nestling within him's high tollerence and self-healing abilities. Which is why it was even more odd that he suddenly felt his body being slowly paralyzed.

Making a quick decision, Naruto decided he had to pull back and go into hiding. Poisoned, he was no good to his teammates and put everyone's lives as well as the success of the mission at a risk if he forced himself to engage in his current condition.

A little poison wouldn't kill him (hopefully), so his best choice would be to find a secluded place to wait it out, and once he felt better he'd make contact with the rest of his team.

Feeling his stomach twist and turn, Naruto forced his shaking legs to move. Just breathing took a lot of concentration, but even so he was determined to make it out of the mission alive.

* * *

"— g'nna swiiiiiiiiing from the chandliIEEr, fr'm th' chandliIEIEIEEEER! … IIIIIIIIIIII—!"

The blonde's loud voice rung in Sasuke's ear as he supported the drunken man while they made their way down the street.

He'd made a slight miscalculation of the blonde's state as he hadn't taken into consideration that they'd been sitting down the entire time while drinking, thus forgetting that once they stood up, the aclohol within his boyfriend's blood would suddenly have a very huge boost while flowing through his system.

Now he found himself frowning as he tried to steady the heavily swaying man to his left and keep him from collapsing completely.

"—'M g'nna liiiiiiiive l'ke t'morr'w doesn' eXIIST, like it – dsN'T _EXIIIIIIST!_ "

It was a very hard task.

Naruto had lost every trace of composure and control after they had left the bar, the final glass hitting him hard and reducing him into a wasted, singing, slurring mess of a man. He failed completely at hitting the highnotes of the popular song, and Sasuke winced at the volume of the blonde's booming voice.

The blonde on the other hand wasn't bothered, a wide, drunken grin on his face as he hollored, his voice bouncing between the buildings and surely waking a few poor souls from their peaceful slumber.

"Naruto, try to keep it down." Sasuke warned, feeling somewhat ashamed of his partner's behaviour calling unneccesary attention by single passerbies. But at the same time, the drunk he supported amused him slightly. It had been a long time since Naruto had gotten _this_ wasted. Oh, how Sasuke would tease him tomorrow when he was hungover and had the worst headache ever. The raven almost looked forward to it.

Naruto leant on him more heavily, causing them to steer off course slightly before Sasuke compensated for the extra weight to his side and regained both their balances.

Instead of listening to his boyfriend, Naruto sang even louder.

"IIIIII'M GONNa FLYYYYY LIKE A _BIRD THROUGH_ TH' N'GHT, Feel m' TEARS AS THEY DRYYYYYY!"

Sasuke shot the drunk a glare, but couldn't stop his lips from twitching into a tiny smile as he saw the playfull glint in Naruto's eyes. Even drunk, Naruto enjoyed testing his limits and tease him. The blonde knew all too well that Sasuke couldn't stay mad at him for long, and threw his head back and giggled drunkenly at his own terrible performance.

To the raven's delight, his lover didn't finish the song, and instead tried to bury his face in Sasuke's neck while they walked (which as very awkward and made it difficult for Sasuke to walk, but he still didn't mind it.).

He could feel Naruto's hot breath against his skin, and his nose nuzzle into the small bend between his neck and his shoulder. The small, intimate gesture made his heart skip a beat.

"Mmmmm, Ss'ke…" Naruto mumbled into his neck, clealry very content being pressed against his lover's side. Sasuke could feel affectionate warmth spread from his heart into his very fingertips at hearing his name slip past the blonde's lips.

"'M so happy…"

The drunk's confession was nothing new, as the raven had heard the same words many times, but even so they still brought a smile to his lips.

"I… l've you."

Sasuke closed his eyes, tightening his grip around the blonde's waist as they walked, his smile growing further.

"I love you too."

He whispered back to the drunk idiot he'd fallen so hard for.

* * *

Naruto's vision swam before his eyes.

Everything was dark and omnious.

His breathing was raspy and quick, and his throat ached.

His heart was beating quickly – _too quickly_ – within his chest, making him feel like it was about to explode.

Shaky hands grasped the fabric of his vest tightly, his knuckles turning white as another wave of nausea forced him to double over.

Everything hurt.

An intense surge of pain shot through him, and the last thing he felt before losing consciousness was a soft touch against his forhead, and then everything went black.

* * *

 **A/N:** _So what do you think? Is it worth continuing? Please leave a review with your thoughts! If I get enough, I'll continue it :) XOXO!_


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hi guys! I was happy to see the positive response to this sort of story and want to give it a shot! (At least for this chapter.) Your comments have been very inspiring;  keep them coming, and so will the chapters! Enjoy chapter one!

* * *

 **In another life  
** Chapter one.

* * *

Naruto came to slowly.

It took a long while before he began to grow aware of himself. He could feel his body waking up slowly, his senses noting the weight of his legs, his hands, and his position of lying on his back.

His head was no longer pounding, and his lungs easily took in plenty amounts of air without any difficulty. His heart had a slow and steady rhythm.

His facial muscles started to wake up, his brows and nose twitching slightly as he was pulled from his slumber. He was warm, but pleasantly so, and he grew aware of the fact that he was lying on something comfortable and soft.

There were no traces of the agony that had had him twisting before he'd lost consciousness, the poison seeming to thankfully have left his body during his rest. He felt fine, and the realisation brought on a wave of relief.

Even though he felt content where he was, Naruto knew that he had to wake up fully. It was no time to relax. He had to get up and send word to his team that he was alive and well, and that he was able to proceed with the mission. His sudden disappearance must've troubled them, and he didn't want them to worry for any longer.

Now feeling the full strength of his awoken body, Naruto took one last breath before opening his eyes.

It took a minute for them to adjust, and when they did, he found himself staring at a white ceiling.

His brows furrowed. What?

He blinked once, but when he opened his eyes a second time, the same ceiling remained. Suddenly he recognized that the comfortable soft thing he was lying on was actually a bed, and with that realisation he shot up from his position.

Now sitting in the double-sized bed, Naruto's blue eyes took in the sight of the room he was currently in.

It was a rather small, but not tiny room that besides from the bed held a wardrobe, a tiny desk with a foreign, block-like object on top of it*, as well as many scattered papers and books. Two bedside tables stood on each side of the bed, simple lamps adorning their surfaces. Clothes lay scattered around the room, some on the floor, a few hanging over the back of the chair in front of the desk, and some lying carelessly thrown in a basket which Naruto assumed to be a laundry-basket.

The walls were painted a creamy white, bordering towards yellow, and a distinct smell lingered in the air – one that was very familiar, but one Naruto couldn't quite pinpoint.

A small clock ticked comfortingly somewhere in the tiny bedroom, filling the silence.

A million thoughts and questions raced through Naruto's mind.

Where was he? What had happened? Where was this? Whose room was this? Why was he here? How had he gotten here?

What was going on?

He knew he'd gotten himself to a small cavern the previous night, even though he'd been in such a horrible state. It had been secluded and hidden, a good spot where he could have rested and regained his strenght after the effect of the poison would have let up. This was not that place.

His mind instantly jumped between different scenarios, trying to figure out what had happened. Could someone have found him? Was it the enemy? Had they taken him hostage?

No… That didn't make sense, he concluded. If the enemy had found him in his weakened state, they would've gotten rid of him. It didn't make any sense – not to mention that it was stupid – that they would have passed up the opportunity to make rid of him.

And if they had, and had instead taken him hostage, why was he in a bed? Why were there no chains or bars or chakra-subduing charms on his person? He wasn't as naïve to think any of the small countries treated their prisoners well and would allow them a nice nights rest in a comfortable bed without anyone to keep watch.

He doubted the enemy finding him was what had happened.

Then what had? Had someone saved him?

Had someone happened to come upon him in the cave, brought him to his or her livingquarters and tended to him? Upon checking his body closer, he easily found some of the still fresh cuts from the fight the night before on his skin underneath the white T-shirt he was wearing. If someone had helped him, why had they not tended to his wounds?

It seemed too improbable.

He highly doubted someone could have _coincidentally_ stumbled upon him. He had picked a cavern that was difficult to spot so that no one would find him, unless that someone was a shinobi with very good sensing abilities.

Which brought him back to the kidnapping scenario that was even less likely.

None of the explanations he came up with were realistic, and a seed of worry had started to grow within the blonde.

So what had happened?

His eyes searched the small room for his clothes but he didn't spot his uniform or weapons anywhere.

He had to have gotten there somehow, and unless he'd changed clothes in his sleep, someone would've had to have done it for him. But who? And where was he?

The room told him nothing valuable information-wise to answer his questions. He couldn't sense any traps or ill intent, so he deemed it safe to move about. He would have to leave the room and hopefully find out where he was and how he'd gotten there.

On his guard, but determined, the blonde got out of the bed. First he had to find out where he was, and then he had to send word to his captain. Those were his goals.

With practised silence, he moved to the door of the room and tested the handle. It turned easily and the blonde pulled it open, looking on the other side.

He came face to face with a wall. Carefully leaning his upper body out of the room, Naruto stuck his head out and looked both ways down a small, narrow corridor.

To his left side there was a single door at the close end of the small corridor, the signature two-lettered sign telling Naruto that it was the toilet. Looking to his right, his eyes took in part of what he assumed to be a living room, seeming to expand to the left around the corner from where he was viewing. He could spot a two-seated, red couch, a monitor of sorts standing across from it* on a small cupboard, and half of a bookcase standing beside that.

Straight down, on the wall facing him, was another door. Naruto pinpointed it as the front door, seeing the jackets hanging from hooks on the wall and the small shoe-stand beside it.

On the same side of the wall as the bedroom door, but further down facing the living room, there was a third door in the form of an arched opening leading into a room of which nature the blonde couldn't tell yet.

It seemed he was in an apartment of sorts. It was bigger than his own, but not by much, and so, there couldn't be more than two people living there, telling Naruto a little about what he wished to find out.

It was a bit odd, though. Something about the apartment was noticeable different from his own. It did not resemble the traditional built he was used to seeing in and around Konoha, and some tiny details looked out of place to him. The big black screen in front of the sofa was one of them. It was too thin to be a monitor, but it wasn't glass or a mirror either. So what could it be?

The sound of a plate coming into contact with a surface came from the room of the arched door, instantly pulling Naruto's attention. He was able to hear someone moving about, and his heart sped up.

There was someone in the apartment.

Judging by the sounds coming from the room, Naruto concluded it to be the kitchen.

His hand tightened around the door-handle of the bedroom and he steeled himself. He would have to walk into the living room and then turn to the kitchen where he would come face to face with an unknown person whom hopefully would be able to tell him what had happened and where he was.

Suddenly he wished he had his weapons on him.

He took a sharp breath of air through his nose and gathered courage.

He still sneaked out of the small bedroom, making the decision to leave the door ajar in suspicion that it might make a sound if he attempted to close it, and slowly crept towards the opening.

More of the living room came into view as he closed in, a few shelves and two windows alongside the left-most wall appearing in the line of his vision. From the light he could tell it was well into the day. It must've been a powerful poison to have him unconscious for so many hours.

His attention snapped back towards the opening he was nearing as he caught quiet humming drifting to his ears from within. The smell of something cooking also reached his nose, affirming his belief of the room being the kitchen.

The distinctive, familiar smell from within the bedroom was also detectable in the whole apartment, and in the back of his head, Naruto tried to place from where he knew it.

He was almost at the door now.

He'd get answers. Where was he? How did he get here? That's what he'd ask the person first.

Completely silent, he sneaked to the opening and looked into the room. His eyes instantly found the person standing on the opposite side of the room with his back to the door, making something over the stove. Naruto's heart missed a beat and his breath stuck in his throat. His eyes widened as he took in the familiar back of the man he'd known since he was little.

As if sensing his eyes upon him, the raven-haired male turned to look at him over his shoulder, onyx eyes meeting blue. Naruto froze up at the spot, finding himself unable to move or make a sound.

The raven smiled upon seeing him – a smile so soft and unlike anything Naruto had ever seen appear on the other's face before. The warmth in the familiar voice when the man spoke sent a shiver down his spine.

"Morning, sleepy-head."

The smile turned into an all too familiar smirk, and the teasing tone was one Naruto had often heard in his younger years, but hadn't for a while.

When he finally recollected himself a bit from the shock, Naruto mentally cursed his own voice for coming out as shaky as it did when the other's name left his lips in a breath.

He couldn't believe it.

In front of him, in this strange apartment, he'd found the person he'd least expected.

"Sasuke…" He breathed, his eyes glued to mentioned male across from him.

* * *

Naruto felt like shit.

That was the first thought that went through his mind as he started to come to. His head was pounding and his chest ached as if he'd run a marathon without any breaks.

The sharp pain in his head had him hiss between his teeth and scrunch his face. How much had he drunk last night? This was by far the worst headache he'd ever had while hungover.

His throat felt dry and itchy, forcing him to cough and double in on himself, his body shaking as he coughed, lying in a fetal position. Once he could breathe properly again – _he still took very raspy breaths, but he was able to breathe_ – he took more note of his body.

He was lying on something very hard and irregular, plenty of sharp points and edges poking into his side that caused him to ache in discomfort. It was disturbing. Wasn't he in bed? No, this was way too hard to be his bed. It felt more like solid ground. Rock, even.

He groaned as he shifted slightly, his bones complaining loudly when he did. He failed to find any comfortable position, and came to the conclusion that he was definitely lying on rock.

But why?

Suddenly completely awake, Naruto's blue eyes shot open. They took a few seconds to adjust, but then he stared at rock. A rocky ceiling, he realised. Where the heck was he?

With his heart racing in his chest, Naruto hastily flew into sitting position, noting the ache in his muscles from the uncomfortable underlay on which he'd been lying. His eyes quickly darted around and took in what seemed to be a small cave with a small opening on one side, partly covered by a bush or tree of some sort, small streams of sunlight seeping through and providing the little light that aided his sight.

Where the fuck was he? Why the fuck was he in a cave?

Panic started to take hold of him as frightened questions exploded in his mind. He had no idea where he was, why he was there, or even how he'd gotten there.

The sudden rush of emotion had his breath escape him in quick huffs, the sound echoing between the rocky walls of the tiny cave. The panic and the many questions suddenly clouding his mind did no good for his already unbearable headache and his face scrunched in agony. He brought a hand up to press against his forehead, squeezing his eyes shut.

Shit. Fuck. He needed to calm down. He had to breathe slowly.

Forcing himself to take deep breaths through his nose and breathing out through his mouth, Naruto willed his heart to calm down. Eventually the pounding in his chest wasn't as rapid and he'd been able to calm down a little. Unfortunately, it had done nothing for his massive headache.

Peering his eyes open, Naruto slowly looked around the cave once more.

Okay. He had to take it slow. He was already feeling extremely horrible, and he wanted to avoid making it worse.

Where was he? Why was he here? How had he gotten here?

His brows furrowed as he focused on keeping his breath steady.

The last thing he remembered was getting home to the apartment. He'd almost tripped over his own feet as he'd tried to shake off all of his clothes on his way to the bedroom without properly removing his shoes first. He remembered laughing a lot, and how soft and heavenly the bed had felt when he'd finally reached it. He remembered being talked to, but not what had been said, as he'd been way too distracted with burying his face in his own pillow to listen.

And then he remembered the warmth of Sasuke's body as he had snuggled close to his raven-haired lover's side once he'd joined him in the bed, the smell of Sasuke, and the feel of his soft lips against his before they'd fallen asleep in each other's arms.

Naruto's heart stopped for a moment. Then his head snapped up, his eyes wide and alert as the thought hit him.

Where was Sasuke?

They'd been together last night, he was certain. He was also certain they'd fallen asleep together – at home, _in their bed_. So why was he in a _cave_? How had he gotten there?

And _where was Sasuke?_

Grabbed by another wave of panic Naruto forced himself to his feet. He ignored the burn of his complaining muscles and the strong nausea that almost made him stagger, and stumbled out of the cave.

The branches of the bush at the opening scratched his arms and face, but he ignored it, overcome by a strong desperation to find his lover.

He shut his eyes tightly to protect them from the bright sunlight outside. He had to pause for a few seconds, but then forced his eyes open again, as he was too impatient to let them adjust gradually.

The sunlight stung his eyes greatly and they watered as he attempted to look at his surroundings.

The fear that held his heart only grew from what he saw.

As far as he could see, there was nothing but nature. A huge forest spread out in front of him, going far and wide in every direction. He was currently at the side of a cliff, and he could spot mountains towering in the distance as well as around his side of the forest, the cavern he had stepped out from lying partly concealed beneath a pointy cliff of the mountain behind him.

A lump of dread had formed in his stomach and Naruto felt his panic increase.

He had no idea where he was. He had no way of finding out where he was. He was in the middle of freaking nowhere, and he didn't know where Sasuke was. He didn't know anything.

His heart was pounding almost painfully against his ribcage now, his hands shaking as he stared up at the mountain towering above him.

He didn't understand. How the fuck had he ended up where he was?

 _More importantly…_

What was he going to do?

He had nowhere to go, no place where he could search for help. He was in the middle of nowhere and he didn't know what to do.

And with every throbbing heartbeat, all he could think about was Sasuke's face.

He had to find Sasuke.

With some sort of purpose, Naruto slowly turned back around and looked out over the many trees.

… But where did he begin?

Clenching his fists, Naruto repeated the breathing exercise for calming one's nerves he'd seen on the TV once. If he was going to do anything, he had to get his emotions under control.

He didn't know how he'd gotten there, or what had happened, but he had to find Sasuke. Maybe he too had woken up somewhere, afraid, and alone, and if so, Naruto had to find him. He had to find Sasuke, and then they could find a way to get home together. The most important thing was for them to be together. Together they were strong.

He made up his mind. His blue eyes swam with determination and only a tiny bit of fear as he looked at the forest he was about to venture into. He felt lost and scared, but the desperation to find Sasuke was stronger than both of those feelings.

And so, with much difficulty because of his awful condition, Naruto started to make his way down the small cliff and towards the woods.

Once he'd climbed the short way down to the ground, he was forced to pause. It was strangely difficult to move. Exhausting in an unnatural way. His entire body hurt – probably from him having slept on solid rock all night – but it wasn't something he couldn't handle. What was painful was his pounding head, the nausea that resided within him, and his hurting chest.

Something was wrong with him, he realised with fright. It was very unlike any regular hangover he'd ever had before in his life, and it scared him.

But he didn't have time to be scared. He had to focus and just bear with the pain for now.

He hadn't realised when he'd awoken, but he was wearing strange clothes. A pair of dark, plain slacks, as well as a matching, long-armed shirt adorned his body, but what weirded him out was the green, somewhat heavy vest wrapped around his upper body. It had many strange pockets and seemed to be some sort of military-styled armour.

As if his circumstances didn't confuse him enough already.

He decided to just focus all of the little energy he had on walking forwards. Hopefully he'd find Sasuke sooner rather than later.

His entire person ached with the need to find his lover, and he let those feeling fuel him as he forced his nausea away and pushed onwards.

He found that supporting himself against the trees as he walked aided him a lot, and he managed to find a steady pace. It was still slow, but it was steady.

As he walked he grew more used to the pounding of his head. The throbbing wasn't subsiding, but it wasn't getting worse either, which Naruto was grateful for.

Because of the amount of concentration he had to put on just moving his body forwards, it was a long time before the blonde started to take note of the fact that something was out of place. When he finally noticed, his brow furrowed as he tried to figure out what it was.

For such a dense forest, the air was unusually crisp, but there was also something about it that made the hair on Naruto's arms stand on edge. What was it? What was it that was out of place?

He'd paused, the feeling of worry appearing in his stomach forcing him to a halt. He pressed his palm more firmly against the trunk of the tree that he had stopped beside and swallowed. His eyes scanned the woods around him but found nothing strange within sight. What was it?

Then he realised what was causing his strong feeling of unease.

Even though the bushes were many and the trees tall with thick crowns, there were no sounds. The area was beyond inviting for all wildlife – birds, foxes, rodents, crickets, everything – but there was nothing indicating any sign of life. Nothing.

The dense woods were eerily quiet, and not even the sound of leaves rustling in a breeze reached Naruto's ears.

The blonde got a sudden, very strong, foreboding feeling.

The unnatural silence had his legs paralysed and he found himself frozen to the spot. He felt that if he moved too much, he'd disrupt the still air around him and set off an explosion. So instead of turning around or moving about, his eyes nervously darted between the trees and plants within his vision, his sense of dread growing with every passing second.

His heart had sped up inside his chest, and his body had broken out in a nervous sweat.

Then he thought of Sasuke.

Something definitely wasn't right, but he had to find Sasuke.

He licked his dry lips and swallowed. Forcing himself to ignore the strong feeling of his gut telling him to remain still, Naruto took one shaky step forwards.

Suddenly there was a scream and something heavy collided with his body, sending him flying into the dirt.

Coughing and fighting to regain his breath, Naruto realised that what had hit him seemed to be another human being. Hands grabbed after his neck and knees pressed uncomfortably into his abdomen. Panic-struck by the sudden tackle, Naruto began struggling against the hold. Limbs flailed, and while he couldn't see his attacker, Naruto could hear the other's harsh breath and feel the waves of ill intent washing off the other's body as they fought on the ground.

Shit. This was bad, he realised. He was in danger. This person was out to hurt him. If he didn't break free, the other would –

Just as suddenly as he'd been pushed down, the weight was lifted and thrown off him. His eyes flying open, wide and alert, Naruto hastily scurried away from the spot where he'd been pinned.

He heard a sickening noise and something sounding like a strangled gurgle from behind him, and then something heavy fell to the ground with a thud.

His heart racing and his breathing harsh, Naruto forced himself to move as fast as he could in his disorienting condition. Still on the ground, he turned around to look in the direction of where the sounds had come.

His wide eyes quickly found something, and when he took in the sight of the person, his breath caught in his throat.

In front of him stood no one other than Sasuke.

The raven stood with his back towards the blonde, but Naruto recognized his lover instantly. He didn't see the body heaped by the other's feet, or paid any attention to the sword in his lover's hand – all he could see was Sasuke.

 _Sasuke._

Sasuke was fine. Sasuke was alive. Sasuke was there.

Feeling his throat knit, Naruto fought the oncoming tears of relief about to flood his eyes. His heart soared and the fear that had held him since the moment he'd woken up disappeared completely. Swallowing a sniff, Naruto's eyes remained glued to his lover's back.

Sasuke was _there_.

Desperate to touch his other half – embrace, kiss, cry, laugh, or all of those things at once – Naruto made haste of wiping his watery eyes on his sleeve and was just about to stand when two feet were suddenly stood in front of him.

Startled, the blonde jumped slightly and looked up at his lover. He'd moved so quickly that the blonde hadn't even caught it.

With relief and happiness shining in his eyes, Naruto looked at the familiar face of his beloved boyfriend.

"Sasu –!"

His voice died in his throat as he met the raven's gaze. The onyx eyes were narrowed and hard, darkened as they glared at him with venom. Sasuke's face was twisted in a frightening scowl, and clear animosity rolled off his body in waves, causing Naruto to stop mid-sentence.

Never had he seen such an intimidating expression on his lover's face before.

Thrown off by the glare, Naruto yelped when a hand unexpectedly grabbed his collar and forcefully pulled him to his feet. Stumbling, he tried to find his footing, but the shock had rendered his legs useless. He managed not to fall mostly thanks to the raven's harsh hold.

Sasuke's grip on his vest was hard, uncomfortable and tight, and Naruto's heart jumped nervously when he was pulled close to the other's disheartening face. He could feel his body trembling under the other's sharp gaze.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

The forceful hiss from Sasuke's lips shook the blonde. The venom lacing his lover's voice was alien to his ears and made his heart sink within his chest. Sasuke was acting strange, and it was scaring him.

His mouth opened to speak, but he couldn't find his voice. Why was Sasuke so angry? Why was he looking at Naruto like that? What did he mean? Wasn't he as relieved to see the blonde, as the blonde was to see him?

Except for his jumbling thoughts, Naruto could feel the pain of the tackle catching up to him. The fall had worsened his headache and he felt extremely dizzy and found it difficult to breathe.

His mind raced. He didn't understand.

Sasuke's eyes were burning with fury.

What was going on?

* * *

Naruto didn't believe his eyes.

He'd woken up in a strange place, in an unknown apartment, and standing inside the kitchen – _cooking, of all things_ – was Sasuke.

Sasuke, the boy whose back he'd looked at when he was a kid. Sasuke, his rival whom he'd quarrelled with, laughed, and fought alongside in a three-man team as teens. Sasuke, the one he'd desperately chased after and had yearned to be acknowledged by for years. Sasuke, the one he'd seen in his worst state, whom he'd fought, and forcefully dragged back to their village.

Sasuke, _the same one that hadn't spoken to him for two months._

He couldn't believe that the Sasuke standing in front of him, smiling so sweetly was real.

Unaware of the blonde's inner turmoil, the raven tilted his head to the side, bemused by the other's troubled expression.

"What's with the look?" He asked conversationally before turning back towards the stove where he was preparing scrambled eggs, his easy smile never leaving his lips.

"I'm making breakfast. Or rather, brunch, considering how late you slept. Although, I'm not surprised." The light chuckle baffled the blonde. Had Sasuke just laughed?

"You were really drunk last night, you know. I had to pretty much carry you home."

There it was again, the familiar smirk. Sasuke sent him a look over his shoulder, his eyes gleaming in a way Naruto hadn't known they were able to. He looked almost… playful.

The raven turned back and lifted the pan from the stove, shutting it off and started to move about the kitchen, opening cabinets and pulling out drawers, taking out the necessary utensils and preparing for their meal.

Meanwhile the blonde watched in silent shock, frozen to his spot by the kitchen entrance.

What the hell was going on?

The scene in front of him was bizarre, unbelievable, and unreal. He couldn't wrap his head around what he was watching. Sasuke would never act like this – it couldn't be real.

It wasn't real, he realised.

The apartment, the furniture, the strange situation to which he'd awoken, or the raven making the small table in front of him; none of it was real. It was genjutsu.

Once it hit him, it became obvious to the blonde what he had to do.

Concentrating and taking control of his chakra, Naruto closed his eyes with determination. His hands formed the seal and he focused on the chakra flow in his head, furrowing his brows as he concentrated more deeply.

He took a deep breath before he proceeded, reversing his chakra flow to break free from the illusion with force.

 _Now!_

"Kai!" He shouted and held his breath.

It was silent.

Expecting to find himself imprisoned by rouges, Naruto carefully peeled his eyes open again.

What he was met by was the same kitchen he had tried to leave with a confused raven giving him a weird look from the middle of the room.

Naruto's heart sank, discouraged. Then it sped up, pumping quickly as he became concerned.

Why hadn't it worked? He'd done all the necessary steps, and practised very hard to be able to break out of most genjutus' – it was impossible that he had failed. So why hadn't it worked? What was going on? He wasn't in a genjutsu then? How could that be? Nothing around him made sense, which made the explanation of it being an illusion make _perfect_ sense.

So why?

"Are you still drunk?"

Sasuke's voice pulled him from his pondering and his head snapped up as his eyes met onyx. The unfamiliar concern in the dark orbs made Naruto's heart skip a beat.

"Uh…" He said nervously, unused to the raven looking so intently at him and unsure about the whole situation he was in. What was going on?

The questions in his head were many and too difficult for him to solve at the moment, so instead he did what was the easier option and answered the other male's question.

"I've never had a drink in my entire life." He said truthfully, confused as to why Sasuke was wondering if he was drunk.

The raven rolled his eyes in an annoyed gesture – the sight reminding Naruto of how Sasuke had used to act when they were twelve – but was still smiling that stupid smile he'd had ever since Naruto had stepped into the room.

"Uh-huh, sure you haven't." He said. Then he got a juice carton from the fridge to Naruto's right and placed it on the table. Once again the onyx eyes met Naruto's blue as Sasuke looked to him.

"Let's eat. Some food will do you good, I think."

Naruto was still standing dumbstruck in the entrance of the kitchen, his thoughts swirling and his confusion great. He couldn't understand what was going on at all, and he felt conflicted about what to do.

Even so, the raven's words rung true to his ears. Eating would do him good. He'd regain some energy, and maybe afterwards, he would be able to think more clearly.

Looking at the scrambled eggs, toasts and vegetables neatly placed on top of the table, Naruto could feel his appetite tug at him. He was hungry, he admitted. Figuring everything out would have to wait until after he'd eaten.

Hesitantly, he nodded and approached the table, keeping his eyes on the raven as he quietly took the seat opposite from him.

Even though it appeared he wasn't in a genjutsu, the man across from him couldn't be Sasuke.

He shyly studied the raven who had begun to eat the food on his plate while reading a paper with care.

Everything about the other looked exactly like Sasuke. The bridge of his nose, his cheekbones, the dark strands of hair messily resting over his forhead, the elegant movements of his wrists as he lifted another fork of scrambled eggs to his mouth, his lips, his eyes – even the lashes were identical to the raven Naruto knew so well.

The one thing that was different so far was his attitude. The Sasuke across from him had smiled and talked easily with him, like it was natural. He had laughed, and his eyes had held none of the dark and heavy emotions Naruto was used to seeing in them. The entire air surrounding the man across from him was light and somewhat warm.

No, this Sasuke looked identical to the Sasuke he knew, but this Sasuke was nothing like the real Sasuke at all.

The other took note of his not-so-discreet staring and suddenly Naruto found the dark eyes looking straight back at him.

"Are you not eating?" Sasuke asked, his brow furrowing slightly. Naruto jumped, feeling his cheeks flush from having being caught staring at the other. He quickly grabbed the fork lying beside his plate.

"Y-yeah!" He stuttered, feeling awkward and uncertain of how he should act towards the Sasuke-yet-not-Sasuke in front of him. Thankfully, the raven shrugged off his strange behaviour and continued to read his paper and eat his food in a content silence.

Naruto brought the food to his lips and took his first bite. It was good, he decided.

He'd never eaten anything Sasuke had cooked – _nor had he ever seen the raven cook_ – before, but he didn't find the food the raven in front of him had prepared distasteful.

Sasuke must cook, though, right? After all, he had been an orphan, just like the blonde, and so he would've had to feed himself somehow. Imagining the damaged Uchiha cooking in front of a stove was weird to Naruto. The only thing that was weirder was that he just a moment ago had seen the raven sitting across from him do just that.

He didn't understand.

He appeared somewhat collected on the outside, eating his food in silence while sitting at the small, white table across from the other. But inside his head, Naruto's thoughts were reeling.

What the hell was going on? He was eating breakfast that Sasuke had prepared – the fake Sasuke, who had greeted him with a smile and talked to him with ease – after he had woken up and found himself in a strange bed, in a foreign apartment.

He'd gotten up to find out where he was and how he'd gotten there, but then he'd met Sasuke and found himself in his current prediction instead.

He'd already tried breaking a genjutsu, but nothing had happened, which only confused him even more. Did that mean that this was real? How could it be?

…No, that was impossible.

There was no reality where Sasuke's eyes could shine so brightly.

But then how did he explain the presence of the man in front of him? A henge? No, even the tiniest details were too accurate and close to the real deal for it to be someone else in disguise. This Sasuke was even using his left hand as he ate, a detail not many knew of if they hadn't spent some time with the raven in person.

So far, the only thing he'd succeeded with was making himself even more confused.

What was he going to do?

Naruto slowly lowered his fork, the worry brought forth by his pondering making him lose his appetite. He had to get himself together.

Glancing at the male across from him he decided to try to find answers to the questions he had originally considered. Whoever this "Sasuke" was, he might be able to help him.

He took a breath and steeled himself.

"Uhm…" He started. The Sasuke across from him looked up from his paper and shifted his attention to the blonde with a questioning look. Looking into the raven's eyes, Naruto's heart sped up and he anxiously began to bounce his leg underneath the table.

However, he was determined to find out what was going on, and so he swallowed and voiced his question.

"Where… is this?"

* * *

The rage in the raven's expression didn't falter in the least as he glared at Naruto. The blonde could feel the other's knuckles grazing his throat, the collar of his shirt painfully digging into the back of his neck. He brought his hands up and closed them around his lover's wrist, hoping to make him loosen the hold in which he held him a little.

" _What the fuck are you doing?"_ Sasuke's question came back to him.

Swallowing, he nervously parted his dry lips.

"Wha…" His voice was raspy and he coughed weakly, trying to clear his throat. "What do you m-mean?"

Never before had he stuttered when he'd talked to Sasuke, but the strange animus air around his lover had his heart pound nervously. He didn't understand. Why was Sasuke so pissed? Naruto couldn't remember a single time Sasuke's eyes had been burning with such venom and anger directed towards him like they were now. Not even during the early years of their relationship when they'd shouted at each other and ended up in a brawl almost every time they ran into each other.

In honesty, his lover's current demeanour frightened Naruto.

Ignoring the blonde's question, Sasuke let up his hold of the other's collar much to Naruto's relief.

However, before Naruto was able to react, a palm pressed against his chest, roughly shoving him. A whoosh of air escaped his lungs at the forceful impact, and he stumbled backwards, struggling to keep his footing. Since when had Sasuke possessed such monstrous strength?

His eyes desperately tried to find his lover's gaze, hoping to find some sort of hint or explanation as to why he was acting this way, but the raven had already turned away from him.

Fear seized Naruto's heart when he realised the other was leaving.

"We're going to the others."

Before the blonde was able to register the sharp words, the raven set off, disappearing in between the trees and leaving the other male behind.

"W-wait!"

Naruto shouted, a jolt of panic shooting through his body and forcing him into action, sending him stumbling after the other.

His heart pounded loudly in his ears and his chest constricted tightly from the sudden dash. His head spun and his lungs found it extremely difficult to take in enough air. His throat dried up and as he forced his trembling legs to run he could feel a hand wrap around his stomach and twist it, sending a wave of nausea through his body. With every heartbeat, a sharp pain shot through his skull, and with very step, moving became more and more difficult.

Naruto didn't understand why he felt so seriously sick. His headache had worsened when he'd fell, or was pushed, before, but since he'd laid eyes on Sasuke he hadn't taken note of his body's bad condition. But now as he stumbled between the trees, trying to catch up to the raven, the senses hit him full force.

He tried to ignore the agony coursing through his system, but he couldn't ignore his swimming vision. He had to catch up to Sasuke. He had to find him. He had to –!

A strong wave of dizziness overwhelmed him and he was forced to his knees in a sudden halt, doubling over himself. One hand went to support his weight against the ground, saving him from face-planting into the dirt, and the other tightly pressed against his forhead as he fought the bile rising in his throat and struggled to keep himself in check.

The world was spinning around him and his vision blurred, the dirt beneath him seeming to move in front of his eyes.

Shit. Fuck. Something was definitely, severely wrong with him.

Naruto would've cursed himself for not minding his own state earlier, before he got himself into this situation, but everything his mind was able to focus on was the stressed thought of that he was going to loose Sasuke.

He'd just found him, and now he was going to loose him again. It was a thought he couldn't accept.

But no matter how much he struggled to, Naruto couldn't get up. He felt too sick. His body had broken out in a cold sweat, and his hand and legs were trembling as another shiver wrecked his body. All he could do was fight to not throw up.

Even through his clouded mind, Naruto's ears picked up on the small sound of a twig snapping behind him to his left.

He snapped his head around just in time to meet the eyes of another man jumping towards him. Naruto's blue eyes widened as they took in the sight of the man, time seeming to slow around them.

The other's hazel eyes were wild and crazy, the pupils small and the whites bloodshot. His face was twisted into a nasty, terrifying snarl, morphing his entire face into that of a monster. The sunbeams flitting through the treetops gave perfect light for Naruto to spot the dark, red stains randomly splattered across the other male's dark clothes and purple vest as the other's hands swung some sort of blade towards him in slow-motion. Some droplets of the red substance also adorned the other's face, and as Naruto realised what it was a sense of dread shot through him.

His heart beat, and with terror he realised that he was going to die.

And then time sped up again as something crashed into the other person mid-air, pushing him to the side and away from the blonde. Naruto remained on the ground, stunned by the sudden, rapid happenings, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

Then his blue eyes caught sight of the raven hair and his heart skipped a beat within his chest, a small gasp of relief escaping his lips.

Sasuke.

The man lying on the ground underneath the Uchiha took a few seconds to collect himself, and when he had he made an attempt to move. The raven swung his sword through the air with one fluid motion, cutting the man's throat with lethal accuracy before he was able to move more than an inch. The man's horrified scream quickly drowned in the blood pumping from the clean cut and was distorted into a sickening gurgling noise. Impatiently, the raven drove his sword through the other man's chest, thus silencing him completely.

With practised ease he pulled his sword from the other's chest, the body emitting a soft thud as it fell back onto the ground, blood seeping into the dirt and painting the grass in a hideous shade. The raven quickly wiped the blade clean with a dark cloth he had pulled from a pocket on his hip. The entire affair went down in less than seven seconds.

Naruto's eyes stared wide and horrified at the thick, red blood, his brain working in overdrive to comprehend the images it had just recorded. The hazel eyes of the man that had been shining madly only moments before were now blank and distant.

And Naruto realised what had happened.

He drew a sharp breath and the hairs on his entire body stood on end as utter shock mixed with horror pulsed through him.

Had he not been rendered paralysed by the sight and immobile due to his horrible condition, he would have thrown himself backwards and screamed.

Instead his eyes shook and his breathing came in harsh huffs as he stared, frozen, at the sickening display in front of him.

The realisation that Sasuke had killed someone – with such ease, too – made his blood run cold.

His heart throbbed, and the world twisted around him. He could feel his nausea surging and had to press his lips together so tightly to refrain from throwing up that they turned white. His head spun and he gasped for air.

This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening!

One last look at the corpse sent Naruto toppling over the edge.

Just as the raven in front of him turned around, Naruto could feel himself slipping. He caught the livid expression on the raven's face quickly turning into one of slight puzzlement before everything tilted to the side and he was swallowed by darkness.

* * *

 _* A computer.  
_ _* A television._

 _I know there is some sort of technology in the Naruto Universe (As seen in Naruto Gaiden (Where it's already become very modern, indeed.)) but I like to believe that Ninja Naruto isn't all too aware of the technology of the Modern World._

 **A/N:** Do you still think this will be an interesting story to explore? As I said at the top of this chapter, reviews help inspire me and also let's me know whether you are enjoying my work or not. If you _are_ enjoying it, please let me know! And I'll keep writing :) _Don't you want to know what happens next?_ Also, if you have any questions about it so far, or any ideas you'd like to suggest, I'd love to hear them!

Until next time! Hopefully ;P


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Guys, so far the response to this fic has been very positive, I'm glad! I love reading your reviews, and would love to see more. This chapter is a little longer than the previous one, and most likely the chapters will be closer to this length from here on out. (If you still want to see it continued!) Anyway, here's chapter two for all of you to enjoy!

* * *

 **In another life  
** Chapter two.

* * *

Enveloped in darkness, Naruto's conscious flitted to and fro. Voices drifted to his ears, altering between muffled and clear, some of which he recognized and some of which he didn't, before disappearing again altogether.

"…–ruto! …"

"…–t ha–…–ened…? … this…"

"… Check him."

Sasuke's familiar voice broke through and reached him through the darkness. He felt his weight being shifted and how he was laid down. Hands pressed against him. Different people talked around him, their voices sounding distant – like he was submerged under water and they came from above him.

Occasionally some words broke the surface and cut through the water, grasping after his conscious, but whenever they caught it, it seemed to slip through their fingers and he sank deeper.

"–…! … I can–…! … - … … -! … seem to – … poisoned… – can't –…"

"Let me – … - … don't – …!"

"Alright, we – … … - … …!"

"… now."

"Fine."

And Naruto was once again left alone in complete silence.

* * *

Even though the other's look made him somewhat nervous, Naruto stubbornly stared back with a determined gaze at the raven across from him at the kitchen table.

Sasuke – _the fake Sasuke,_ he had to remind himself – had a furrow between his brows and was sending him a weird look, his gaze questioning and telling the blonde that he had found his question rather odd. The raven seemed to judge him, contemplating in silence before he finally parted his lips.

"… Our apartment." He said slowly, a suspicious tone seeping into his voice as he regarded the blonde with slightly narrowed eyes as if he suspected Naruto to be up to something.

The answer didn't tell the blonde anything.

His brow furrowed. Wait…

 _Their_ apartment?

His thoughts began spinning. Was Sasuke suggesting that the strange and unfamiliar apartment he had woken up in was _their_ apartment? As in, they lived there, together? Naruto and Sasuke?

The bad feeling in the blonde's stomach grew and he steeled his jaw. He could not wrap his head around what was going on. Him and Sasuke living in an apartment together, Sasuke greeting him and cooking him breakfast; how could it not be a genjutsu? It didn't make any sense.

He was growing more and more confused for every passing minute, but Naruto decided to push on. He had to find out more. Even if it wasn't a genjutsu, it still had to be some sort of jutsu – some sort of trick or spell, and he had to figure out how to break it.

Leaning his body slightly forwards in his chair, his blue eyes didn't leave the raven's across from him.

"And where is this… apartment?" What land? What city? Anything he could work with was fine.

In front of him, Sasuke's brows furrowed further. He looked confused by Naruto's question – an emotion Naruto rarely saw reflected within the onyx orbs.

"… We're in Osaka."

Naruto came up with a blank. He did not recognize that name at all. Was it somewhere near the Hidden Valleys Village? Or perhaps somewhere beyond the Land of Earth? It had to be far away form the Land of Fire; otherwise he would've recognized it.

 _If the place even existed at all_ , a small voice in his head whispered, reminding him that everything could be fictitious around him.

Maybe the enemy had him caught in some sort of dream that was created to mislead him, and if that were the case, then asking questions would get him nowhere.

Even if he didn't seem to be in a genjutsu, the world in which he'd found himself and the Sasuke in front of him could not be real. It wasn't real, it wasn't _his_ world, and it wasn't genjutsu. What the hell was it? Where the hell had he woken up?

He brought a hand up to his chin, his brows furrowed as he blindly stared at the glass of juice in front of him while silently contemplated everything, trying to grasp the non-existent puzzle pieces that would help him figure his situation out and rid him of his helpless state of confusion.

Sasuke studied his concentrated expression with mild suspicion across form him, leaning back in his own chair and narrowing his eyes.

"… Is this some sort of new prank you're trying to pull?" He questioned the blonde dubiously, drawing his attention.

"It's not April first, you know."

"I know that." Naruto snapped hastily, forgetting for a second that the Sasuke across from him wasn't the Sasuke from his world because of the familiar condescending tone in the other's voice, his cheeks heating once he caught himself. This Sasuke simply arched an elegant brow at his reaction, his expression unamused.

Then he closed his eyes, sighing, the tension disappearing from his posture.

"Whatever." He said and stood from the table, grabbing his plate. Naruto's heart jumped in anticipation of what was to come. So far he'd only woken up, met Sasuke and eaten some breakfast. Would the true nature of this strange illusion he'd found himself in show itself soon?

"Don't forget you promised to help Sakura re-furniture her apartment today." Sasuke chatted casually while rinsing his plate in the sink and then placing it in some sort of special cabinet underneath another counter top.

Naruto's ears picked up on the familiar name and he straightened up in his chair.

"Sakura-chan?" He mumbled, mostly to himself. There was a Sakura in this fake-world too?

Sasuke hummed in his usual way as he dried and put away the pans he'd used for the eggs earlier.

"I was told to remind you, because she knew you'd forget. You agreed to meet before two." Blue eyes found the clock hanging above the entrance to the kitchen and scanned the time. Twenty past one, it read.

"I'm going to run by campus, pick up some stuff I left after finals." Sasuke turned around, leaning against the counter and looked at him.

Naruto blinked dumbly, his brain struggling to absorb the sudden flow of confusing information. He was meeting Sakura? Sasuke was going where to pick up some stuff from what? Sasuke was leaving? What exactly was going on?

"Uh…" Was all he managed to say. Unfazed by the lack of an intelligent answer, Sasuke pushed away from the counter and started to make his way towards the kitchen entrance.

"I'll probably be back before you are, so you won't need to bring your keys with you to Sakura's place."

A tiny spark of panic shot through the blonde when he realised Sasuke was walking away from him. He had figured out that this wasn't the real Sasuke from his world, and he had only just met him, but even so, the idea of being left all alone in the unfamiliar apartment without the other male present scared him.

Stressed not to be left behind, Naruto pushed away from the table and followed the raven through the door to the living room and stopped in the small hallway where the other had begun to put on his shoes.

Sasuke really was leaving. The thought was oddly unsettling and the blonde swallowed nervously.

He still hadn't gotten any answers. Apart from the fact that he knew that this was supposed to be his… _their_ apartment, and that he was in some place called Osaka – _which didn't tell him much, to be honest_ – he was still in the unknown. He had not figured out what was going on, how he'd gotten there or why he'd waken up in another place from where he'd gone to sleep – and now the other Sasuke was _leaving him alone_ in this strange world and telling him about his supposed meeting with a Sakura from this world while he still had _no idea what he was supposed to do about anything_.

"I'll probably drop by Kakashi's place once I'm done at uni. I'll tell him you said hi."

Sasuke finished with his shoes and stood, swiftly pulling a dark, knitted cardigan over his head and swinging a simple satchel over his shoulder. He turned with his hand on the handle of the door, his onyx orbs locking with Naruto's searching blue gaze.

"I'll call you later, okay? To check when you're going to be done at Sakura's, then maybe we can get something to eat together."

Naruto wanted to tell the raven to stop, to wait, to explain what he meant, _everything_ , but a lump had formed in his throat and his voice refused to work. He could only stare into Sasuke's eyes and hope that he would be able to read Naruto's unvoiced pleads through his eyes and stay. But the raven simply offered him a tiny tilt of his head.

"I'll see you, alright?"

And then he stepped out the door and closed it behind him, leaving the blonde alone in the apartment.

Naruto stared at the wooden door for a few moments before he was jolted into action. He spun around in the small hallway, his eyes quickly finding the two windows situated on the living room wall to his right. Stumbling over his own feet he dashed to them, pushing the heavy glass open and peering outside.

He was a few stories up – maybe on the third or fourth floor – in a rather tall building. Other tall buildings surrounded his; some lying straight across from him on the other side of a street that he could spot below, and others connecting to his building by their walls.

He could tell the windows across from him lead to other apartments, but felt a sense of being out of place as he took in the structure of all of the buildings. They were not made of wood, but other, unfamiliar materials, and they looked nothing alike the houses in Konoha. They were flat and grey, the windows unframed and huge, reflecting the sunlight on their blank surface, and some stood taller than any building he had ever seen. The strange sights made his head spin.

Shaking the uneasy feeling threatening to creep over him, he directed his gaze downwards to the street below, searching for the familiar raven hair.

His eyes spotted the other exiting a door leading out of their building on ground level.

He opened his mouth to call the other's name, but hesitated in the last second. What did he hope to accomplish calling after the other? Did he wish for the raven to come back? And do what? Tell him how to break this weird illusion and return to his own world?

… But this wasn't an illusion, was it? A dream? Was he maybe having a hallucinative dream in his poisoned state? Was he imagining up another world where he and Sasuke lived together in an apartment in a strange city with strange buildings? Why would he dream something like that? It seemed strange for his mind to make such a dream up, but then again, maybe the poison messed with his head more than he was able to anticipate.

It didn't matter how much he mulled his situation over, Naruto could not make sense of anything. _What had happened?_ The main mystery kept nagging at the back of his mind.

Could he really be dreaming all of this? He considered the possibility seriously. Maybe he was dreaming.

Quickly he pinched his left arm between his fingers, the skin stinging painfully and bruising from the force. Letting go, Naruto stared disappointedly at the small red mark that had formed where he'd pinched. If it was a dream and the pain hadn't woken him up, he must really be sleeping heavily.

Another idea struck him and he looked around the living room, his eyes pausing at the red couch.

He'd been told that falling while sleeping was sure to wake a person up, even from the deepest of slumbers.

Standing at the couch's armrest, his back towards the cushions, Naruto steeled his jaw in determination. Then he leant back and fell backwards. He bounced slightly when his back hit the seats, hitting his head against the other armrest at the opposite side of the furniture.

Cursing and clutching his skull between his arms, Naruto rolled back and forth on top of the couch for a little while, eventually accidentally toppling over the edge and onto the floor with a surprised yelp.

Even after the pain had subsided, he remained on his back, staring at the plain ceiling above him and relaxing against the soft carpet.

He'd hurt himself intentionally and unintentionally, he'd fallen twice, and he was still there. That had to mean that it wasn't a dream, right?

His brows furrowed and he groaned, bringing his hands up and covering his face. What was he doing?

He decided to try breaking a genjutsu a second time as he remained on the floor, but once again, even though he completed all the steps correctly, nothing happened. He remained on his back on the floor in the apartment. His and the Sasuke from this world's apartment.

Dragging a hand down his face, Naruto could feel a headache approach. His shoulders had tensed from stress and his mind had been clouded with disorientation since the moment of his awakening. No matter how much he thought about it, he wasn't able to figure out the solution to his problem.

Opening his eyes he stared at the ceiling once more. His mind drifted to the Sasuke from his world. Behind Sasuke's fluent movements and natural skill for fighting lay a bright and sharpened mind, he knew. The raven was clever, more so than most – _a lot smarter than the blonde by far_ – and Naruto found himself wondering if the cold Uchiha would've been able to figure out what was going on, what technique he'd been a victim of, and break free from it without struggling like the blonde was at the moment.

The answer was 'probably' and Naruto frowned despite himself.

It was a long time ago since he'd referred to him and Sasuke as 'rivals', but even as they'd grown into equals in the sense of strength and technique over the years, he still struggled with an inner desperation to prove himself in front of the other male. He knew that Sasuke acknowledged him in a way – he must, since he'd lost against the blonde that time, three years ago when Naruto had finally managed to drag him back to Konoha – but ever since his return, Sasuke had grown cold and put a distance between them. Once Naruto had noticed the giant rift growing between them, it had been too late, and the raven had adapted an unapproachable air around him, cruelly ignoring the blonde's every attempt to rekindle their friendship, their rocky relationship crumbling further with every unfortunate clash.

Naruto was happy Sasuke was back, he was, but he would be lying to himself if he said he was happy with how things were between them. He'd chased Sasuke all those years and brought him back with the hope and belief that they would return to the way they had used to be; friends, rivals, team mates. But of course, in reality, the Uchiha's return hadn't turned out as well as he'd hoped.

In the beginning it had been a lot of arguments, paperwork, test and evaluations concerning the Uchiha. Sasuke had been put under careful watch by the Anbu, and had been under a lot of pressure to pass a lot of different test – most of which's nature the blonde still didn't know of – that would decide if he was to be trusted, and thus go free and return to the line of duty as a shinobi of the lead, or if he was too unstable and twisted and would spend the rest of his life imprisoned for his crimes.

It had been a though period of months, and Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi had struggled to support their former team mate from the sidelines.

Naruto still remembered the painful grasp in which Sakura had held his hand on the day of the verdict, and the tears of which she'd cried when it had turned out to be white and Sasuke was once again assigned as a Shinobi of Konohagakure.

Back then Naruto really had thought they could've gone back to how they had been. That team seven could be once more. He had been wrong.

When Sakura had ran to and thrown her arms around the raven that day, Naruto had met Sasuke's eyes. They had been eyes of a bitter man, cold and distant, freezing his blood when they looked at him over Sakura's head. It had been eyes filled with hate.

Naruto released a shaky breath, feeling pitiful for being so affected by the distant memory.

Being melancholic didn't help his current predicament at all. He had to figure out how to get back to his own world somehow.

Sitting up and dragging a hand through his short, blonde locks, Naruto considered his next step of action.

If he wanted to find out where he was, he would have to leave the apartment. Hopefully he would find some sort of clue of how to get back to the real world, or at least a fault in the technique ( _if he even was in one to begin with_ ) that might help him figure out how to counteract it.

Having made up his mind, he got to his feet. Looking down at his body, he decided to change into something other than the sweatpants he was wearing. The white T-shirt, he could wear.

He felt somewhat awkward making his way back into the small bedroom and digging through the closet that was supposed to be his and Sasuke's. The very idea of sharing something with the raven made him feel uncomfortable. He managed to find a pair of plain slacks that fit (which he hoped meant that they belonged to him) and pulled them on, breathing a sigh of relief as he left the small room.

He'd pinpointed the distinctive smell that lingered through the apartment to be the smell of Sasuke. He'd recognized it from their many fights where they got up close and personal and the smell of Sasuke's sweat mingled with his own as they exchanged blows. The fact that the bedroom smelled so much like the raven had his body itch to move into a defensive position, the muscles associating Sasuke's smell with the heat of a battle, and frankly, it was stressful.

Now dressed, Naruto mentally prepared himself for his journey of exploration outside of the apartment. So far he hadn't run into anything that seemed to poise any danger or be out to hurt him – only the strange Sasuke of this world who weirded him out, but neither he had seemed dangerous. Actually, he'd been less threatening than the Sasuke from his world.

He managed to find a pair of sneakers in the hall that fit him, and only after some struggle, managed to tie them around his feet. Looking at the various jackets hanging by the door, he decided against taking one. He didn't know which was supposed to be his, and even so, they were not really his and glancing at the sun outside he doubted he'd even need one.

Feeling nervous, but determined, he grabbed the door handle and stepped out into the building's hall.

There was a second door on the same floor besides the one he had exited, and two staircases, one leading upwards, and the other down. Some sort of construction separated the two stairs, but Naruto had no idea what it was and also felt no need to find out.*

He listened for a few seconds, but there were no alarming sounds or anything else indicating that leaving the apartment could threaten him.

He heard the door click as he closed it behind him. He was surprised by the fact that it had seemingly locked itself, but shook his head and shrugged it off as another strange thing of this world.

He made haste of climbing down the stairs and soon found himself standing on the street with the many buildings towering above him. He looked up in amazement, stunned by the height of the buildings. Even the street looked odd, a black, smooth surface making it out, and on each side of the street were two stoned paths which reminded him somewhat of the roads back in the Fire Country, albeit a bit different.

He weighed his options. He could walk right, or head left like Sasuke had. Did it matter which way he chose?

He felt more inclined to head the same way he'd seen the raven do. For some reason, his gut told him that that direction would prove more giving in his quest.

As he walked his eyes cautiously darted between the buildings, people, and random objects that he found along his way. For a world he was certain couldn't be real, everything was amazingly detailed. Every face, every corner and every building was unique and stood out from the one's around it. He wondered how such a thing was possible. If he really was caught in some jutsu, or within a dream, it was seriously impressive.

Even the things he'd never seen before, such a colourful boxes marked with symbols*, odd, huge machines with wheels standing still alongside both sides of the street*, and the weird signs pointing in different directions at every corner were so complex and seemed to have actual purposes in the world he was in that he was unable to wrap his mind around it. Most things were extremely curious to the blonde.

He'd only gotten a few streets, and was considering in which direction he was going to go, when he heard a familiar voice yell his name.

"Naruto!"

He paused and furrowed his brows in confusion before he turned in the direction of the voice. His eyes widened as he caught sight of the pink strands of hair swaying back and forth on top of the head of the woman walking briskly towards him with a scowl on her face.

The familiar green eyes flashing angrily at him had his heart jump in his chest and his mouth falling open slightly.

"S-Sakura-chan – "

He managed before the girl reached him, swatting his upper arm with a strenght he'd grown all too used to over the years in her company.

"Don't you 'Sakura-chan' me! What time do you think it is?" She huffed, glaring at him with her cheeks puffed out. Said cheeks were rosy and Naruto could spot a small sheen of sweat on her forehead, noticing her slight breathlessness indicating that she'd been walking briskly on her way there.

"Uh…" He said, stunned by his team mate's sudden appearance. He studied her face and was frightened by the perfect resemblance it held to the real deal. His eyes travelled further down and he found himself distracted by a drop of sweat travelling down her collarbone and the skin exposed by her low cut top before it disappeared down her cleavage. Even the size of her breasts was spot on. He blushed red the second after the thought had crossed his mind.

The pink-hair in front of him luckily paid no mind to where his eyes had journeyed and shoved a finger in his face.

"It's almost a quarter past two already, and we agreed you'd be at my place no later than two, _at most!_ "

Naruto found himself at a loss for words. Everyone in this world seemed to ramble about things he was unable to follow or comprehend. The Sakura-copy crossed her arms, looking less upset than she had a few seconds ago, but her expression remained displeased.

"Didn't Sasuke remind you this morning like I asked him to? Jeez, I can't even rely on one of you nowadays. Come on." Naruto startled when she grabbed one of his wrists, tugging at him to follow her as she spun around.

"I want to be done before six today, so you better work hard once we get there."

"Wha–? S-Sakura-chan, wait!" He managed to get out as she pulled him along down the street in the direction of which she'd come, stumbling as they went.

"Nuh-uh! You're coming with me, no objections!" She called over her shoulder, and Naruto could do little else except for attempting to keep up with her while his thoughts spun in his head.

Where were they going? Why had Sakura appeared?

 _What was up with this world?_

* * *

The second time Naruto came to, he was a lot more comfortable than last time.

Slowly peeling his eyes open, he blinked sluggishly as he grew aware of his surroundings. He was lying in a white bed – _a small bed with a thin, somewhat stiff mattress, but a bed nonetheless_ – in a somewhat spacious, white room. The sun shone through the window beside his bed, the white curtains fluttering lightly in the breeze that drifted into the room through the frame that had been left ajar.

He instantly recognized his sterile surroundings to be a hospital.

What had happened? Had he drunk so much he'd ended up in the hospital?

Maybe he'd run into the road and been hit by a car. Embarrassingly, it had happened before. Naruto didn't have the best stories of his nights spent intoxicated.

He wriggled under the thin sheet, trying to feel if he was hurting anywhere. Except for his muscles feeling somewhat sore and his stiff back complaining slightly, he was relieved to find that he felt fine.

His mouth was a little dry, but otherwise, he felt fine.

He furrowed his brows as scenes from his dream flashed through his head. He'd had the strangest of drunken dreams he'd ever had. Frankly, it had been utterly terrifying. He'd woken up in a desolate place without Sasuke, and then, when he'd finally found his lover, Sasuke hadn't acted loving at all.

The image of his lover's twisted face and chilling glare had Naruto shiver. It had been an unpleasant dream.

And the worst part of the dream had been the graphic, brutal murder of a random guy. Naruto could still imagine the sound the guy had made when Sasuke had sliced his throat with his sword.

A _very_ unpleasant dream.

He was glad that he'd woken up.

Sitting up in the hospital bed, Naruto cricked his neck. His shoulders were stiff, he realised, and a groan escaped his lips when he rolled them backwards in circular motions to ease his joints a little.

Just as he was about to change direction, the door to his room opened and a nurse stepped in. Naruto raised his eyebrows at her uniform, as it resembled the one's from the pornos more rather than the one's from the modern-day hospitals. It wasn't as short as the 'slutty-uniform'-version, but it was very outdated. He decided not to comment on it, though. Maybe it was a new thing.

The brunette took note of his aware condition, and seemed satisfied by his awakening. She briskly scribbled something on her clipboard before she walked over to his bed.

"Uzumaki Naruto, good to see that you're up." She said in a practised, neutral tone as she pulled back the drapes separating his bed from another, unoccupied one closer to the door.

"How are you feeling?" She asked as she bent down, motioning for him to tilt his head back. Naruto knew she didn't really care for an answer and just asked because it was polite. Since she was the nurse, she would determine if he really was feeling fine or not. He nodded his head anyway as she held her hand against his forehead, probably checking if he was feverish.

Her finger pulled lightly at one of his eyelids, her own chocolate brown eyes staring at the reaction of his pupil before letting go again, backing away from his face.

She began fiddling with the IV-drop that hung from a hook and was connected to his arm through a thin tube. Once satisfied, she pulled the small chair on wheels closer to his bed and sat down, pulling out a pulse-meter, beginning to strap in to his arm.

"Your body seem to have made a good recovery, considering the condition in which you were when you arrived here." She chatted, tightening the strap and reading the meter after she'd pumped the small ball in her hand a couple of times. Naruto offered her a sheepish grin, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"Well, I usually don't end up in the hospital for such things…" He chuckled.

She looked at him but didn't comment. She released his arm and took out her clipboard, writing down the results of his blood pressure with her pen on the paper. Then she flipped through the different sheets the clipboard held, her eyes scanning their contents while she relayed the information to the blonde.

"From your last blood test, the results returned with normal readings leading us to believe that the poison has left your body completely. It was a strong dosage of a poison from a very rare plant – it's impressive that you survived an entire night without treatment. Lucky for you, Shizune-san knew of the antidote and was able to inject you with it as soon as you were brought here." She flipped the board closed and hugged in to her chest, catching his gaze.

"Your readings give us no sign to worry, and your blood pressure and temperature seem fine. I'm going to bring my final report to the desk, and then you'll be discharged. In other words, you'll be free to go. However," She added as she rose, her black heels clicking against the plastic floor.

"We would like for you to take care of your condition. You've been relieved from duty for a couple of days, just to make sure your body can recover it's full strength. If you feel dizzy or any sort of discomfort, we'd like for you to inform us immidiatedly and we'd run some tests to make extra sure the poison really has left your system. Don't over-exercise during these days and don't push your body past its limit. It's important."

Naruto stared at the nurse as her words went over his head. What was she talking about? Poison? A rare plant? Lucky to be alive? _Relieved from duty?_ He didn't understand.

"What…?" He whispered, feeling his voice tremble as a heavy stone of dread settled within his stomach. "What are you talking about…?"

What was she saying?

The nurse looked unimpressed by his reaction.

"It'd be best if you had someone who could look after you, just these few couple of days, to see that you really have fully recovered."

Naruto's heart was thumping forcefully inside his chest. What was she talking about? Poisoned? The nausea from his dream came to his mind and he could feel his throat constricting. It had all just been a dream, right?

… Right?

Two firm knocks sounded on the door, drawing both Naruto and the nurse's attention to it as it slid open. Naruto's heart jumped in his chest, before it sank and he had to struggle to swallow a sob.

The familiar face of his lover was expressionless and stony as he stepped over the threshold and into the room. With utter terror, Naruto realised that his dream hadn't been a dream at all.

The Sasuke in front of him, taking two steps into the room before stopping, an aloof aura surrounding him and a haughty glint in his narrowed eyes as he straightened his posture, looking slightly threatening, was not the Sasuke he knew.

"Uchiha Sasuke, pardon my intrusion." Sasuke drawled, the familiar voice tainted by an unfamiliarly bitter tone that Naruto wasn't used to hearing from his lover.

He fought the oncoming tears with every ounce of strength that he could muster, biting his bottom lip hard enough to taste iron.

This couldn't be happening. It hadn't been a dream.

He had thought that the cold, venomous Sasuke had been a figment of his horrible imagination, someone who didn't exist – someone he would've never had to face again. It appeared he'd been wrong.

He found himself staring straight into the face of the same person who had driven his sword into someone's chest only a few steps away from the blonde, and it terrified him.

The nurse didn't seem fazed by the Uchiha's intimidating demeanour and simply nodded towards him with a stiff expression.

"Uchiha-san." She said in acknowledgement of his presence. "You were assigned to the same mission as Uzumaki-kun when he was poisoned. You were also the one to escort him here, if I'm not mistaken." She stated, studying the raven with her dark eyes.

Naruto was still caught in his own mental breakdown.

No. No, no, no, this wasn't happening. Everything he had dreamt – everything had really happened. He'd woken up in a strange place, alone and feeling sick – _poisoned_ , a voice reminded him – and then he'd found Sasuke; a Sasuke that was nothing like the raven he loved, who had taken him into a choke-hold, snarled at him, left him behind, and cut a man's throat without a single trace of hesitation in quick succession.

And then, Naruto had fainted, and now he was in a hospital. And once again, the dark, terrifying, spitting image of his lover was glaring him in the face. It took every fibre in his body not to cry. Instead his knuckles fisted the sheet of the bed so hard they turned white, his entire body trembling.

Sasuke – not Sasuke, _not Sasuke_ , the blonde stressed in his mind – looked at the woman with a cold and expressionless gaze.

"Yes." He said simply, his tone giving away nothing to hint of his thoughts on the matter.

"I was just telling Uzumaki-kun that he will need someone to keep close watch over him the following days, just to make sure he has completely recovered." The nurse started, hinting what she wanted to get at. Naruto's eyes widened as he realised that she was suggesting the raven to be that person.

No, he did not want that. Anything but that! He did not want to be left alone with a nightmare version of his most important person – he didn't think his heart would be able to take it.

Glancing up he jumped when his gaze locked with the scrutinizing stare of the onyx orbs belonging to the Uchiha. His heart beat nervously under the intense glare and he could feel himself beginning to sweat. Then Sasuke's eyes thankfully left his and drifted back to the nurse.

Naruto almost breathed a sigh of relief. For some reason, this Sasuke didn't seem to like him. Which was fine by him. That meant he would defenitely decline the Nurse's offer and then walk out of Naruto's life, hopefully to never return again.

"I'll do it." The raven agreed passively. Naruto choked on his heart as it flew up into his throat.

What had he said?!

The nurse nodded, seemingly satisfied by the answer.

"Good. I will then leave him in your hands. He's going to be discharged right away. Please look after him." She said, bowing politely.

"I will." Sasuke said, his voice indicating no such promises. The nurse bowed once more, and then left the room.

Naruto wanted to reach out after her, scream for her to 'wait!' and 'don't leave!' but he found himself frozen to the spot, unable to speak or move before she had already closed the door behind her.

He was left alone with Sasuke. A Sasuke who seemed to dislike him very, very much.

What was going to happen now? Would this Sasuke take his sword out and kill him like he had killed that other guy? It wasn't unthinkable, and the thought frightened the blonde.

He didn't want this. He wanted to go home. He wanted Sasuke to smile at him, kiss him and laugh that beautiful laugh that he loved so much.

Instead he was sat in silence, his heart racing and his thoughts spinning as he could feel the other's gaze burning into his skull. He refused to turn his head and look at this Sasuke. He couldn't help the slight tremble of his bottom lip.

Suddenly, he felt the air shift just beside his bed, and he startled when the raven was suddenly standing very close to him, his narrowed eyes looking down his nose at the blonde who shrunk away from the intimidating glare.

"Get up. We're going."

Naruto would've had to be extremely stupid not to head to the other's hard command that left no room for argument. Not that the blonde would've even dreamt of arguing with the frightening raven after having seen what he was capable of.

Instantly he shot out of the bed, standing on his shaky legs and swallowing hard as he waited for what the raven would do to him. But the animous Sasuke simply looked at him and then turned around and started walking towards the door.

His brain taking a few seconds to follow, Naruto started when he realised he was supposed to follow the other out of the hospital. Almost tripping, he hurried to catch up to the retreating back of his lover's terrifying look-alike.

It wasn't long before Naruto found himself stumbling after Sasuke onto the street outside the hospital.

Immediately he looked around and was surprised by his surroundings. He could spot quirky buildings, with wooden roofs and simple windows, standing at different heights along the gravelled roads. Tall, wooden poles reached up between the houses, old-fashioned wires connecting them, crossing back and forth across the sky above their heads.

Naruto's mouth fell open as he looked around in amazement. Everything looked so different, so odd. Looking over his shoulder his jaw dropped further as he spotted the giant cliff towering above the village, big, stone monuments resembling faces protruding from the cliff-side, their empty, stony eyes looking down over the buildings.*

As he stared his mind reeled.

Where the hell was he? What was this place?

It looked nothing like any city he knew of, and Naruto couldn't shake the feeling of being far, far away from home that had settled deep within his heart.

Turning back around he realised the raven had gotten a far way ahead of him down the street to their right and he hurried to catch up to the other male.

He felt lost and out of place among the people out and about on the sunny day. Families and friends moved through the village, shopping or simply making their way somewhere. The blonde's eyes darted between the many traditional stands and small shops along the roadside, his confusion growing with every step.

What was this strange place he'd found himself in? Everything looked very old-fashioned. Even the clothes that the other pedestrians around him wore were out-dated and looked nothing like the different fashions he was used to seeing.

He tried to focus on what was in front of him, namely the raven.

The other was walking at a fast pace, seemingly uncaring for the disoriented blonde behind him that had to jog to keep up.

Naruto didn't understand.

He'd woken up at the floor of a cavern in the middle of nowhere, suffering and in pain, and not knowing where Sasuke was. Then he'd stumbled through the woods and been attacked, only to be saved by a stranger wearing his significant other's face.

Because the Sasuke walking in front of him couldn't be _his_ Sasuke.

His eyes were cold and unforgiving, sending chills through the blonde's blood every time they glared at him. His posture was rigid, the air surroudning him sharp and hostile, and his face was either set in an intimidating scowl or completely expressionless, the blank, unreadable look unsettling to the blonde. He was nothing like the Sasuke Naruto knew.

Even so, Naruto's eyes desperately clung to the other's back as he followed him. Even though the raven in front of him was nothing like the man he loved, he looked exactly like him, the resemblance so accurate that it scared the blonde.

And no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't ignore the tug at his heart that made him want to wrap his arms around the man ahead of him and pull him close, burry his face in the other's neck and find comfort in his lover's unique smell.

But he held back, reminding himself that he couldn't do that, because _this wasn't his Sasuke._ The knowledge wounded him.

He wanted nothing more than to wake up and realise it was all a dream and find Sasuke still sleeping beside him in their shared bed. But he wouldn't, would he?

Even though the world around him was strange and extremely confusing, the sun burning into his neck and the small breeze ruffling his hair felt too real to be a dream or part of his imagination. Even the people, the noises, the smells, everything was _alive_ and _so colourful_ around him that it stunned him.

No, this wasn't a dream – it couldn't be. But then… what exactly was it? It wasn't a dream, but it wasn't reality either – not _his_ reality, anyway. So where was he?

In an unknown world, at an unknown place, with nothing but a well-known face to anchor him in some way, but even the person beneath that was actually a complete stranger, he'd found himself.

Just thinking of his situation, not to mention attempting to understand it, made Naruto's head spin.

He felt dizzy for a second and his thoughts drifted to what the nurse had told him; that he had been severely poisoned and that even though they no longer saw any trace of the poison in his blood, he had to take care in case there was any left. His heart jumped at the possibility that he might experience what he had the first time he'd woken up again, although, he doubted that he poison was the reason for his headache this time around.

The pair walked in silence and with each step, Naruto grew more and more anxious. The raven made no motion to tell him anything; where they were going, what was going on, or why he'd agreed to take the blonde anywhere to begin with.

Naruto couldn't know for sure since he'd only spent about seven minutes with this Sasuke thus far, but he had a strong inkling that the other disliked him. He didn't understand why though.

The other male was quiet as they walked, leading them left, down one street, and then right, down another without as much as a single glance over his shoulder towards the blonde.

Naruto was uncertain about what to do. The cold, unapproachable air around the other scared him. He wanted to ask a million questions that were flying through his mind, but they were so many and most of them made his head throb slightly. But he couldn't follow the other blindly in silence, as it made him uneasy.

He wanted to say something – but what? He had some simpler questions, and he opted to go for one of those.

As they navigated between the buildings down some smaller roads, the blonde gathered courage and opened his mouth to break the suffocating silence.

"W – Where are we going?" His voice trembled as much as his legs and he cursed his nervously fluttering heart.

Finally, Sasuke looked over his shoulder and their gazes met briefly, building Naruto's hopes up of receiving some sort of explanation or answer to his question. However, his heart quickly sank when the other simply turned around once more and kept walking in silence.

He didn't understand at all. Why was Sasuke acting so cold? Why was he being so mean to him and ignoring him?

It hurt.

With his heart beating loudly in his ears Naruto bit down on his bottom lip to refrain from saying anything else and fought to keep his emotions in check as he continued to follow the other.

After what felt like an eternity in strained silence, the raven came to a halt beside a building where he begun to climb a narrow staircase going up along it's side. Naruto's eyes swept over the simple, unfamiliar built before he hesitantly followed the Uchiha.

As he reached the top he spotted the other male standing in front of a green, worn door and Naruto wondered where they were. What was this place? Did the raven live there? Were they meeting someone?

As he wondered about many things, Sasuke turned the handle, pulled the door open and went inside the – _what Naruto assumed to be an_ – apartment.

Cautiously, and with more hesitance, the blonde peeked into the apartment before carefully stepping over the threshold. His eyes instantly scanned the narrow hall where he found himself.

It was a traditional Japanese entrance with a small step that merged with the floor made out of wooden planks that reached all the way to what appeared to be a living room further into the apartment. A few hooks hung on the wall to his left, and on one hung a black and orange jacket of sorts. On the wall to his right, just above the step, hung a small mirror – which was probably used by the person living there to check their appearance one final time before they headed out the door.

A few steps into the hall was a door leading right, and Naruto guessed that it lead to the bathroom.

Ahead of him, the hall opened up into a bigger room. Naruto could spot the foot of a bed just below a double-framed window on the opposite wall from the entrance, but not much else.

He was snapped out of his gazing when the sound of the door shutting behind him reached his ears. Before he was able to react, an arm drove into his chest and he was slammed against the hard surface of the door behind him. The air left Naruto's lungs from the force and he wheezed.

Looking up, he met the seething glare of two narrowed, onyx eyes, and the blonde's blood froze in fright.

Sasuke held him firmly pressed against the door with one arm while the other pointed a very sharp-looking, _very deadly_ knife-like weapon towards his throat. An alarm went off in Naruto's head and he could feel the panic rise. The raven's entire stance oozed with murderous intent as his glare clawed into the blonde's very soul.

When Sasuke moved his lips it took Naruto a long while before he was able to comprehend the words he had spoke with such a sharp, harsh tone.

His thoughts tumbled around in his head, unable to remain calm and keep his mind clear.

"H-huh?" He managed to squeak. Sasuke's eyes narrowed further and he added more pressure against Naruto's chest, bringing the point of the knife-like blade closer to the blonde's neck (much to Naruto's horror).

"I said," The raven hissed darkly, his voice sending shivers down Naruto's spine, his eyes holding promises of death as they stared deep into the blonde's as he recited his previous words in a slow manner.

" _Who are you_ and _where is Naruto?_ "

Naruto forgot how to breathe for a second and then his eyes widened in confusion.

 _What?_

* * *

 _* The construction between the stairs is supposed to be an elevator. I'm assuming they don't have those in Konohagakure.  
* The strange colourful boxes are post boxes. Or magazine distributers. Very modern stuff. (lol)  
* Cars. (Actually Naruto should be seeing tons of them driving around, but I'm too lazy to add yet another confusing impression for him to experience.)_

 _* The Hokage cliff._

 **Guest:** I'm glad you're enjoying it! It's just as you're saying; if Ninja Naruto and Sasuke were to fall in love with the Modern Naruto and Sasuke, it would be counter-productive since I plan to have the two Naruto switch back to their original worlds eventually (somehow), and so, the simple answer is: No. They won't. Don't worry! I have a plan for how the story and our four characters will proceed, and I will warn that at some point during the story, it will probably seem as if they do. It will all be for a greater purpose though (if not only for the two Shinobi to realise their own feelings towards each other), but we'll cross that bridge when (and if) we get there! I hope this answer is good enough. I really liked your review, thank you for posting it and please keep reading :) xoxo!

 **Babya:** Thank you! I don't think I can tell you how happy it makes me to receive a review like this :) Short, but sweet! And I will try to keep updating! As long as I get enough of a positive response, I will!

 **DarkIceAngelFlare:** First of all, nice username! So badass! *cough* back to your review. I'm glad you like it! And I understand exactly what you mean; it was because of that I myself started to write this. Canon is canon and an AU is an AU, but writing something where the two worlds get to meet in some way is both exciting and fascinating. It's a very interesting idea, don't you think? I would love to continue it! Ah, thank you! Personally I find my own writing to still have a lot of room for improvement (it's still pretty basic and casual language), but it makes me happy to hear that you like it! :) Yes, we'll get to that eventually. (I can't believe I actually had to google UST to see what it meant... XD I've never encountered it before!) And to answer your question... It's probably both a yes, and a no. To put it simply, yes...(?) But the actual reason is probably something far more complicated (something I'm not even sure I'll get to fully explain in the story.) I'd call it a grudge, maybe? Ninja Sasuke isn't someone able to express himself and his feelings properly from the beginning (since he's a man of few words) but eventually I plan for him to loosen up, if only a little, around the Modern Naruto, and then we'll see how things go with Ninja Naruto after that! Thanks, and don't thank me! Thank you! I'd love to continue hearing your thoughts - about this chapter as well, so please keep reading :) Xoxo!

 **Akane-Rihime:** Oh, thank you! For both reviews, of course :) Aw, chucks! Stop it you! Seriously, I should be thanking you for reviewing and showing me support! It's what inspires me to keep writing after all! I'm happy to hear that! I was worried the summary would be too plain or too in-descriptive, but I'm glad to hear that it's interesting enough :) Well, your review helped me get inspired to finally upload this chapter! Oh, yeah! I saw it! Seriously, thank you for reblogging on tumblr! :D I hope you will enjoy this chapter as well! Hugs and kisses!

* * *

 **A/N:** Finally, thank you all for the amazing reviews! I've responded to a few in Private Messaging, but I think I will proceed in answering reviews in this manner instead - that way, we can all take part of this journey together! I really enjoy writing this fic, and hopefully I will be able to see it through to the end with all of you guys :) Keep sending me reviews, no matter how short or "unimportant" they might feel; A simple smiley is good enough to keep me writing!

I really enjoy writing about Ninja Naruto in the Modern world so far. For him to meet with and experience a different and softer Sasuke is very fun and interesting to write. I think that he secretly would have loved for his relationship with Ninja Sasuke to be as easy going as the Modern Sasuke make their relationship in the Modern world seem to be.

As for Modern Naruto - these parts are a lot more difficult to write. He's in a lot more emotional pain compared to Ninja Naruto (who is mostly just confused) because he is faced by a very mean and hard version of his lover, which takes a lot more time to write in consideration of his wounded feelings. He's used to an affectionate Sasuke, but instead he's treated coldly, and thus he suffers more through all of this.

Just like before: If you want to see more, please, please review! Even though I personally like this story, there's no use to writing it if I don't know that other's are enjoying it as well. As i mentioned above, if you're a person of few words, just simply post an exclemation point or a smiley face - I don't mind either! :) Just seeing the response is nice.

 **Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! And hopefully, I'll get enough reviews, and will be able to post another one! If you'd like, you can check me out on tumblr as well: littleshimmerofhope (I go by the same name as here) Take care! Xoxo!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Hey guys!** I have to start by saying _wow!_ The response you've given me is amazing and I couldn't be more thankful for your many reviews! Seeing the notification of a new review on my phone during the lunch breaks at my job have really made my entire days throughout this last weeks, and I deeply thank you for it. Thanks to that, I've felt greatly inspired to continue this story! So, strap on your seatbelts and prepare yourselves, because this is probably going to be a long ride. But we'll be going on it together, so let's all enjoy ourselves!

Here's chapter three!

* * *

 **In another life  
** Chapter three.

* * *

"No, a little more left. A little more, a little more… Okay, stop! Stop! Wait, go back a little to the right again. There! Right there! Stop! … Hm…"

Sakura hummed, inspecting the couch's new position with excessive concentration.

Naruto released a breath, straightening up only to lean against the heavy furniture's armrest, happy for the short break for his muscles.

For the last three hours he'd been helping this strange world's Sakura assemble, place, and move her new set of furniture around, testing different layouts and ideas that she'd had for them. It was surprisingly heavy work, and Naruto had soon grown sweaty and warm in the tiny apartment, even though they had all windows fully open to let fresh air inside.

He'd been very confused when a Sakura had shown up in this world also, appearing suddenly and dragging him with her to another part of the strange city and into another building where it turned out that she lived. There had been no time for questions as she had diligently given him assignments and orders of what he was to do. She had made it clear that there was no time to waste and that she would punish him severely if he worked slowly, reminding the blonde all too much of the pink-hair from his world. And so, he'd focused on the task at hand and set to assembling her new furniture with haste before she could raise her fist towards him.

Now, three hours later, he was exhausted and sweaty, but oddly calm after the workout. The ache of his muscles was a familiar feeling and brought the blonde an odd sense of comfort. Training was something he knew, something he enjoyed, and after everything he had experienced in just a single day, the exercise had managed to still his raging thoughts and successfully relaxed him (for a while, at least).

He felt more composed and clear-headed than he had previously as he watched the pink-hair tilt her head to the side, straighten it again and scrunch her nose. He held back a sigh; He guessed she wasn't happy with the couch's current placement then.

They were almost done, and only had to find the arrangements of the last pieces of furniture that would satisfy the woman's sense of style.

"No, I don't like it." Sakura stated – just like Naruto had thought she would – with a troubled look on her face. Great. Were they ever going to finish? Naruto opened his mouth to voice his opinion on the matter, but the pink-hair's expression lit up and she cut him off before he was able.

"Oh! What if we try placing it with the back towards the entrance? I think that would create a nice feel of the room being separated with different sections for different purposes, don't you? It'll look pretty, too! Come on!"

Naruto bit back a groan and got up. He lazily moved into a position where he had a proper grasp of the couch and waited until Sakura had the other side before they began to move it to it's wished position together.

When it stood like Sakura had envisioned, she sprung from the couch's side and looked at it from the other side of the medium-sized room. Naruto watched her from his position seated on the armrest, wary of her facial expressions that always managed to expose what she was thinking straight away. This time though, her expression remained neutral as she looked at the couch with her big, green eyes, arms neatly folded across her chest.

Naruto straightened up as a small shimmer of hope appeared within him. Maybe this time, Sakura would be satesfi–

"I don't like it."

Naruto's shoulder's slumped.

"Sakura-chan…!" He complained, unable to restrain himself any further. His whiny tone sounded much like the one he would usually use with the Sakura from his world when she made him do any heavy labour.

To his surprise, when he looked up, the pink-hair had a playful smile on her face and her green eyes shone amusedly at him from where she was stood. At the sight of his exasperated expression, she burst into laughter.

"I'm joking, Naruto." She laughed joyfully, her smile bright and warm. "I'm just pulling your leg, I couldn't resist." Naruto heart skipped a beat as he thought that the girl looked mighty cute at that moment, his cheeks heating slightly. Her words sent a wave of relief through his body. Finally…! That meant they were done, right?

Once her laughter had subsided, the pink-hair straightened up and winked at him.

"It looks prefect." She said looking at him gratefully. "It's just that I've made you move that freaking couch around for at least half an hour now, so I couldn't resist teasing you one last time." She explained, hands on her hips as she regarded their handy-work, looking around the room and finally seeming satisfied with what they had accomplished.

"Seriously, though," She added, her smile growing gentle as her eyes found his. "Thank you for your help, Naruto."

The blonde had slumped into the couch, intending to sit for a bit and regain his energy when the pink-hair thanked him. His heart jumped again and he brought a hand up to rub at his neck, shyly averting his eyes to the side.

"'T was nothing…" He mumbled. He wasn't used to Sakura complimenting him too much. Sure, she showed him appreciation of what he did for her from time to time in his world too, but it wasn't a regular occurrence for him to hear her compliment or thank him honestly.

They had a strong and steady relationship as great friends, but their every-day conversations mostly bordered to friendly bickering if anything, where he would attempt to charm her, she would call him an idiot and sternly turn him down, and he would become discouraged and complain vocally, causing her to hit him and tell him to 'man up!'.

Afterwards, though, she would silently laugh when she thought he wasn't looking, and Naruto would grin widely when he noticed.

This Sakura's smile widened when she spotted his blush, and then she skipped over to the couch and fell down beside him with an easy giggle, pulling the blonde from his memories.

He tried not to think of their close proximity when her shoulder touched his. Sakura stretched her arms above her head, groaning contently when a few bones popped in her back.

"Mmh! Ah…! It's finally done!" She sang, overjoyed with her new, stylish apartment. "It feels so good that I have a new living room now. Ino will totally go green when she comes over to see it!" She grinned victoriously, snickering to herself.

Naruto made a face when he caught the familiar name. Ino? There was an Ino in this world too?

Now that it appeared they were done with the furnishing, the thoughts that he had put on hold came back to the blonde, instantly clouding his mind.

He still had no idea what sort of world he was in, or how he'd gotten there; All he knew was that in this world he _lived_ with a Sasuke that was very different from the Sasuke he knew, and that there was a Sakura who unlike the two ravens didn't differ much from the real one. Their circumstances and lives obviously varied from each other, but the pink-hairs' personalities, their looks, and the way they acted was stunningly similar.

Naruto realised that while he'd been spending time with the woman sitting beside him on the couch, he hadn't even thought about the fact that she wasn't the Sakura from his world. He'd easily fallen into habit and talked and acted like he would've normally had, completely forgetting that the pink-hair beside him and the entire world around him wasn't the one he was used to. That it wasn't real. Or was it?

Sakura had mentioned that even others of his friends lived within this world. Was it all really just a technique or a dream? Everything was so strange, and the blonde still had no idea what to make of his situation. The thoughts were all still too dizzying.

"So, you and Sasuke-kun doing okay?" Sakura conversed lightly, her question snapping Naruto back from his troubled contemplating to the pink-hair sitting beside and looking at him.

"Uh…" He said dumbly, furrowing his brows, her question striking him as odd. Sakura was referring to the Sasuke from this world, wasn't she? He didn't know what to answer, so he went for something that was vague enough to be interpreted however someone would like it.

"We're… fine…?" He hoped it would do.

It seemed like it did.

Sakura smiled towards him.

"That's good to hear. You know," Her smile turned into a smirk and she got a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I got a text from Sasuke-kun this morning where he told me you got completely shit-faced last night." She bumped their shoulders together good humouredly and Naruto swallowed, sweating.

There it was again, the notion of that he would've had been drinking last night. Sasuke had hinted the same thing that morning, and it perplexed the blonde. He'd never touched alcohol in his entire life, but in this world, the other's seemed to have an idea that he for some reason had done so last night.

He didn't know what he found more confusing; the word text and what it meant, that Sasuke seemingly had contacted Sakura the same morning, or that they kept insisting that he'd been wasted the previous evening.

Sakura appeared oblivious to the blonde's inner turmoil and continued.

"He whined like a little boy over the fact that you had taken over the entire bed and managed to kick him out." The pink-hair laughed, clearly amused by the Uchiha's pitiful struggles.

Naruto's eyes widened as he realised something from Sakura's words.

It was true that when he'd woken up that morning, there had only been one bed in the room he'd found himself in, and later he had learnt that he lived together with the raven, but at the time he had thought nothing of it. Now the realisation smacked him straight in the face.

There was only one bed in the apartment.

Naruto hadn't spotted any other rooms, and he seriously doubted there was a bed in the bathroom (the only room he hadn't visited.), so that meant… Without doubt, in this world… he and Sasuke… shared a bed…!

Naruto could feel his ears turning red, his entire face lighting up. He and Sasuke _shared a bed_? What sort of messed up dream was this? What sort of world was he caught in?

The mere thought of sleeping together with Sasuke in one bed made the blonde extremely uncomfortable. He would've never dared to even imagine sharing a bed with the Sasuke he knew, perfectly aware of the fact that the other would've probably seized the opportunity to strangle him in his sleep, and he very much preferred to stay alive.

But here, in this odd, still unknown place, (Okasa…? What had the raven called it again?) he was living with Sasuke, and apparently sharing a bed as well.

The blonde's cheeks were burning. He tried to calm his racing heart as new questions arose within his mind.

What sort of relationship did he have with Sasuke in this world exactly? What were they supposed to be? Best friends? Brother's? Room-mates? … Room-mates who shared a bed? No, no. They all seemed to be wrong.

He quickly went over the small interaction he'd had with the other since he had awoken.

The raven had greeted him with breakfast, smiled and talked easily with him. He had referred to the apartment as ' _their_ ' apartment and acted like it had been the most natural thing in the world for them to be living together. Was it? Maybe it was in this world. Naruto had no idea.

It seemed from how the raven had talked to him that they spent a lot of time together, as he'd obviously been with the blonde the previous night, and had even suggested they would eat dinner together when they both returned from their daily tasks.

Was Naruto correct to assume their relationship was good? He thought he was, considering Sasuke's mild and friendly attitude towards him here, compared to the resenting attitude that Sasuke had towards him in his world.

So in this dream/illusion, they were on good terms. But, how much of 'on good terms' does two people have to be to share a bed?

The more he thought about it, the more it confused him.

What were he and Sasuke to each other here?

He glanced at the woman to his side and wondered if she would tell him if he asked her. When he'd questioned the raven about their whereabouts the same morning he'd given the blonde a pretty weird look. If he decided to ask anything, he would have to be smart about it. So far, the pink-hair hadn't called him out on acting strange or unusual, so he guessed she had no idea that he wasn't from this world.

Deciding to take a chance he licked his dry lips and took a steadying breath to calm his nerves.

"Uh, Sakura-chan…?" He successfully drew the woman's attention and her green eyes locked onto him. Naruto swallowed nervously.

"Erh, what would you… call me and Sasuke?" He asked hesitantly. "I mean," He stressed, trying to save his timid approach to the subject and appear more easy-going and simply curious. "How would you describe our relationship?"

Sakura furrowed her brows, her green eyes showing slight puzzlement at his question as she tilted her head to the side. Naruto's heart raced nervously within his chest as she regarded him in silence. The seconds dragged by, the short time before she parted her lips feeling like an eternity to the blonde.

"You're lovers, right?" She said easily, her voice light and unbothered, as if it was the most obvious thing there was. "Boyfriends." She clarified. Then she tilted her head to the side again, seeming to ponder more deeply about his question.

"Although, those terms are pretty light when it comes to describing you guys…" She furrowed her brows, talking slowly as her gaze drifted. "I guess you could be called ' _two pieces of a whole_ '…? ' _Soul mates_ ', maybe?" Then she laughed, turning back to the blonde, her short hair bouncing against her shoulders.

"Nah, I guess Sasuke-kun would hate it if we started referring to you as that." She grinned, shrugging her shoulders girlishly. "' _Two idiots in love_ ' is what I like to call you." She finished with a smile.

Naruto remained unmoving in his spot, his face blank as his mind worked tediously slow with absorbing what Sakura had said. And then his face exploded with colour.

He started, jumping back from the pink-hair with a horrified expression on his face, his cheeks and ears burning and his heart thumping forcefully against his ribcage.

"W-w-w-w– _What?!_ " He shrieked, his throat constricting and the pitch of his voice unusually high as he stared at Sakura with wide, disbelieving eyes.

The pink-hair flinched away from his extreme reaction in surprise, giving him a weird look.

"What? W-what's wrong?" She asked hurriedly, eyeing the shocked blonde with slight confusion.

Naruto's mind reeled.

Lovers? Boyfriends? Two idiots in love? _With Sasuke?!_

Everything those labels implied raced through the blonde's head, causing his face to burn hotter and make him feel as if he was going to burn up.

Sasuke was his _lover?_ They were _boyfriends?_

… He and Sasuke were _lovers?!_

The raven's smile from that morning flashed into his mind. The warmth in his voice, the tender affection in his onyx eyes as he had looked at Naruto when he had entered the kitchen, the fondness behind his teasing tone when he had called him a 'sleepy-head' – suddenly all of those tiny details he had overlooked became glaringly apparent to the blonde, as well as the feelings that had rested behind the onyx orbs when the raven had looked into his eyes. He'd looked at Naruto as a _lover_. He had looked at the blonde as someone who harboured deep, passionate feelings for him – feelings of _affection_.

Feelings of lo–

Before his mind could finish it's track of thoughts, Naruto bolted straight up from the white couch.

His heart raced and his mouth felt dry. His thoughts spun wildly, and he felt dizzy (Although, he was not sure if it was because of his racing thougts or from his sudden and hasty rise from his seated position.).

He and Sasuke were lovers. They lived together and shared a bed – and they were _lovers…!_

The idea was bizarre – absurd, even! Imagining being lovers with the raven made the blonde woozy. He pictured holding Sasuke's hand, walking down the street, going out to eat together, sleeping together and sharing a bed, waking up and looking at the other's face lying right next to his, shopping together, resting his head in Sasuke's lap; the many images made Naruto's brain short-circuit.

Doing all of those things with Sasuke: it was unimaginable, unthinkable – impossible. He couldn't imagine it. It could never happen.

He'd woken up in some strange world of which he couldn't figure out how to get out of where a foreign Sasuke lived; a foreign, alien Sasuke who was supposed to be his lover. He couldn't accept it. It wasn't real.

Shaken, confused, and bordering to panicking, Naruto forced his stiffened muscles to move.

"I, uh – I have to – I have to go!" He stammered, turning on his heel and rushing towards the hall. Sakura gaped, remaining frozen to the spot for a few moments, stunned by his sudden outburst. Then she snapped out of her daze and hurried to go after him.

"Naruto!" She exclaimed indignantly as she followed him, shocked by his strange behaviour.

Naruto didn't pay any mind to the pink-hair, ignoring her as he quickly yanked on his shoes in the hallway. His thoughts were racing inside his head because of the sudden bombshell she had dropped on him. He couldn't stay.

This wasn't – _couldn't_ be real. _He had to get out of there._

However stressed he felt to make a run for it – run away, never look back and _forget about everything_ – Naruto couldn't leave the worried pink-hair hanging without some sort of explanation.

"Where are you going? What happened? What is it?" The woman asked, concerned by the way her friend was acting, her green eyes worriedly searching for his gaze as he stood with his back to her.

"I just remembered something I have to do." He said, hastily ripping the door open and slamming it behind him as he rushed from the apartment – away from the furniture, away from Sakura, and away from the idea of being the raven's lover.

Naruto took the stairs two steps at a time, descending the apartment-building so quickly he had to grab the stair rail in order to prevent himself from flying into the walls below each stair and make the sharp turns. When he reached the bottom he took the final steps in one jump, barely managing to keep his knees locked and avoid crashing into the floor, hitting his shoulder as he rammed into the door, ignoring the pain and throwing it open before stumbling out and onto the street outside the building.

He had no idea where to go, but he just needed to run, to escape.

Far above him he heard Sakura shout his name from her window, asking him to 'wait!' and 'Please, tell her what was wrong!', but he did neither. Hearing her calling him only intensified the desperation he felt to get away, and so he turned in a random direction and set off, leaving her voice and everything else far behind him.

Naruto ran as if he was mad, his shoes threatening to fly off his feet with every step, as he had had no time to tie them correctly.

He ran down many unknown streets and crossed many roads, loosing count after only a few minutes, the foreign city, people, and buildings flashing past him as he went.

He had no idea where he was going. The only thing that went through his mind was that he had to keep running. He had to keep running and get away from the madness of the world he was caught in.

His eyes teared from the relentless wind hitting his face, his heart throbbing and his lungs aching along with his arms and legs as he ran, forcing himself to keep going without any breaks.

He had to escape. He wanted to escape from the weird dream he was having.

But it wasn't a dream he could wake up from, he knew, a lump forming in his raw throat as he pushed himself, forcing himself onwards. It wasn't a genjutsu either.

But it had to be a trick. It had to! It couldn't be real, this world – it wasn't real!

He and Sasuke did _not_ live together, and they were _not_ lovers. Only when hell froze over and the skies fell down would a world where Sasuke and Naruto could be lovers come into existence. In other words: never. It was impossible.

The cold air burned his throat as he gasped for air, sweat causing his wild bangs to stick to his forehead as he ran.

The raven hated Naruto. He hated Naruto with a dark passion and would burn the blonde with his venomous glares every chance he got. It killed Naruto a little bit each time Sasuke shut him out of his life further and put more distance between them, but he was powerless. He had tried to reach the raven, but failed miserably in every attempt. There was nothing he could do to repair their relationship. Nothing.

And it hurt.

He had a wound in his heart only for the raven that bled each time he was near the other male. Their relationship was built of needles – one wrong step and they would rain down upon you. They would pierce your heart and leave you bleeding on the ground while everything else crumbled around you. Their relationship couldn't be repaired at this point.

It was complicated. It was twisted. It was utterly disastrous.

And it hurt, just like Naruto's entire body.

Being lovers with Sasuke was something that was absolutely impossible, and he found the idea utterly terrifying.

A sharp pain shot up his thighs with each leap now, his lungs screaming for air even as he desperately gasped.

Naruto had great stamina from his many years of training to became a shinobi, as well the many years he'd spent active after that. It took a lot before he would be forced to a halt when he ran, and now, he was soon to reach that limit.

He wheezed as he slowed his mad dash and instantly doubled over with his hands on his knees once he came to a complete halt. His breath was harsh and quick, his dry throat aching badly each time he drew in a quick breath. Sweat ran down the bridge of his nose and dripped from the tip onto the asphalt between his feet, creating dark spots on the smooth ground.

Naruto had no idea for how long he'd ran, how far he'd gotten, or where he was. Nothing around him had been familiar throughout the entire day, and neither was the place where he now found himself.

Had it not been for the fact that his body was entirely focused on surviving – _getting air into his lungs and to his brain, and fighting to soothe his burning muscles_ – Naruto was sure that a sob would've had wrecked his body.

Nothing had changed. He was still stuck right where he'd woken up.

The city towered above him, casting an ominous shadow over his back.

Naruto felt completely lost and alone, and he had no idea what he was to do.

He felt hopeless. He wanted to cry.

 _What was he going to do?_

* * *

Naruto's heart beat wildly within his chest, pumping the terror through his system with lightning-speed, paralysing his entire body with fear.

Sasuke had him in a powerful hold pressed against the front door with a sharp blade pointed straight at his throat. The blonde could feel his hands tremble at his sides, his body beginning to sweat as the raven's murderous glare burned into his wide, frightened eyes.

His heart beat so quickly he feared that it would suddenly stop.

"W–What – What a–are you – What are you talking a–about?" He squeaked. Sasuke's expression was so utterly terrifying and twisted in such a frightening way that Naruto had to struggle not to cry out of fear of the intimidating raven in front of him.

Sasuke was pointing a weapon at him. The thought horrified the blonde beyond belief. He had seen what the raven was capable of; how he had slit a stranger's throat and driven a sword through another person's heart without as much as a flinch breaking his stoic expression as he did. It was inhuman. It was terrifying.

And when the frightening raven narrowed his eyes at him, Naruto realised with horror that he was about to meet the same fate as the guy in the woods had if he didn't think of something quickly.

"W–Wait!" He shouted.

His mind was racing just as fast as his heart. What the hell was going on? Was he going to die? Was he going to die by Sasuke's hand? Was he going to be murdered by the Sasuke that could have walked straight out of a nightmare? He didn't understand.

He'd already realised he wasn't in some sort of nightmare; that what was happening was real, and that he would die _for real_ if the raven drove the weapon he was holding through the blonde's throat.

But what was going on?

He felt as if he'd been riding a roller-coaster ever since he'd woken up in a random cavern in the middle of nowhere. He'd been terrified and felt lost, and then he'd decided to search for his lover. He'd felt joyous and extremely relieved when Sasuke had appeared right in front of him, and then he'd felt as if someone had slapped him across the face once he'd met his lover's ominous glare and realised that something wasn't right. He'd been afraid and utterly terrified for completely new reasons when he had been forced to chase after Sasuke in desperation not to lose him and become a victim of an attack, as well as witnessed a cold-blooded murder up close.

And then he'd woken up in the hospital, only to realise those things hadn't been a terrible nightmare; that the vicious Sasuke had been real, and then he'd been forced to follow the unpleasant raven to this strange apartment, and now he found himself painfully pressed against the door with mentioned raven threatening him with a sharp object.

He was unable to keep up with the rapid turn of events. He had no idea what was going on.

However panic-struck he was, he took note of the fact that the other hadn't silenced him yet, and he took the presented opportunity.

"Wait." He repeated, softer this time, desperation vibrant within his plea to the other.

"I–I have no i–idea what you're talking about!" He hurried to say, praying that the malicious Sasuke in front of him would trust him and care to hear him out. He had to. Naruto's life was on the line.

He didn't understand why this was happening, why Sasuke had shoved him against the door, and thought that he deserved some sort of explanation of the insane events that had occurred in the past twenty-four hours.

The other's scowl deepened, the dark eyes flashing dangerously as they narrowed further. The arm holding Naruto in place pressed heavier against his chest, making it difficult for the blonde to breathe properly.

"Who are you and where is the fucking moron?" The raven spat, the harsh tone making Naruto flinch.

"I–I'm me! I am Naruto, I swear!" He stressed, bringing his hands up to show that he meant no harm and in a display of submission. He did not intend to make the other believe he would try to fight him for even a second. He'd be dead before he would've even been able to move.

The glaring raven looked so much like his lover that Naruto's heart ached. But he knew that this wasn't his boyfriend. This was a completely different Sasuke, one he didn't know how to act around to manage to survive.

A few seconds dragged by in complete silence in which Naruto could hear his loud heartbeat within his ears while the other studied him intently. The blonde could feel sweat trickle down his temple and journey down the side of his throat and beneath the collar of the white shirt he'd woken up in in the hospital.

Time stood still.

And then, to his great surprise, the other let up on his hold, releasing the blonde and withdrawing his arm. Naruto's heart surged with hope. Maybe he wouldn't die. Maybe he would survive and find a way to go back home.

Blue eyes searched the raven, failing to meet the other's gaze as he had turned his head downwards.

Naruto parted his lips to speak – he didn't know what he would have said, but it probably would have been something unimportant – but stopped in the last second when he got a sudden foreboding feeling. The aura around the raven had changed and now Naruto was able to feel the ominous waves rolling off the other's body on the hairs on his arms as they rose, his skin prickling in unease.

Even though he had been released, Naruto remained frozen to the spot, not daring to move an inch. Sasuke appeared dangerous, and the blonde swallowed nervously. A powerful feeling of dread invaded his senses, setting off the alarms within his head. Something wasn't right.

Sasuke brought his free hand up to his face, slowly letting his fingers slip through the dark, silky bangs.

"I'll ask you one more time." The dark tone sent shivers down Naruto's spine, his heart threatening to jump out of his chest and leave him for dead.

The raven raised his head and looked straight at the blonde. A gasp escaped Naruto's lips, his blood running cold, and he found himself paralysed when he looked into a pair of blazing, crimson eyes.

This _really_ wasn't Sasuke.

"Where. Is. Uzumaki. Naruto?"

Naruto couldn't have done anything even if he had wanted to. He was nailed to the spot by the blood-coloured gaze, unable to move and unable to speak. He opened and closed his mouth, his eyes wide and his mind freaked out by the unnatural eye-colour, but not a sound escaped him.

The raven had red eyes. How was that even humanly possible? It wasn't. It was extremely unnatural and unsettling, and Naruto could feel the panic taking an icy hold of him, as he was unable to look away from the other's eyes.

Finally, it seemed he found a weak and shaky voice.

"M-my name... is Uzumaki Naruto...!" he said, his own voice sounding strange and alien to his ears. "I'm twenty-one years old, my favourite food is ramen and my favourite colour is orange." He began rambling, the words rolling of his tongue before he was able to stop them. Once he had started, he kept on going, his voice growing stronger as he found some courage deep within himself.

"I'm the son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina and I was born in the autumn on the tenth of October. That's why autumn is my favourite season! I grew up on the countryside but moved into the city when I started junior-high, I went to an OK high school and studied business for one year at a low-end university before dropping out to follow my dreams! I live in Osaka and work as a waiter at a small restaurant under a shitty boss, but I bear with it because the pay is great, and my hobby is taking care of plants! I'm not stupid, but I guess I'm not really smart either and - and I have no idea how I got here! I don't even know where this is!"

He was slightly out of breath afterwards and quickly forced his lips shut. Why was he so desperately rambling all of these small facts to the raven in front of him?

Because he wanted the other to believe him. He wanted the raven to realise he wasn't lying; that he was Naruto, and maybe when Sasuke realised this he wouldn't be so hostile and cold towards him any more. He prayed that it would work.

During his rant, the other had remained eerily quiet, simply watching him with the crimson eyes that creped the blonde out.

Naruto held his breath as he waited for some sort of reaction from the other. But Sasuke remained still, staring intently at him without as much as blinking, making Naruto grow even more nervous.

Why was he just standing there? Why wasn't he saying anything?

Slowly, but surely, the raven's brows furrowed deeper together while seconds passed in the suffocating, thick silence between the two males.

Naruto had no idea what was going through the other's head, and it made him extremely uneasy.

Would the other stab him at any moment? Slit his throat? Was he going to die after all?

His heart ached.

Would he never see his Sasuke again?

Then the Sasuke in front of him moved, taking a step back from the blonde, thus breaking the tense atmosphere that had built between them and giving him some space to breathe. Naruto subconsciously relaxed, his shoulder slumping from their slightly raised and alert position, but he was careful to not assume that their confrontation was over like he had last time. He remained cautious of the raven.

But when his blue eyes met the other's gaze, he realised that the blood-colour was gone and the familiar onyx shade met him, making his heart skip a beat.

The raven still wore a stern frown, but he was emitting less hostility towards the blonde, the emotion replaced by a scrutinizing suspicion that Naruto could spot within the other's eyes. What had brought about the change?

The murderer across from him in the narrow hallway fixed him with a suspicious glare.

"…Who are you?"

Naruto's heart sank. He was starting to wonder if this Sasuke was deaf and/or possibly an imbecile. How many times did he have to repeat himself?

"I told you." He stated, a small hint of annoyance daring to slip into his voice. "I'm Naru–!"

He startled when a hand shot out and grabbed him by his collar, yanking him close to the raven's ominous face.

"No, _Naruto_ ," The raven said with venom coating his eerily controlled voice. " _Who are you?_ " He repeated more slowly, pronouncing the words with precise patience as he glared into Naruto's blue eyes.

"How did you get here? Where are you from?"

Sasuke's questions were lost on the confused blonde. How he had gotten there? First of all, he didn't even know where he was – how could he have any idea how he'd gotten there? He didn't know! Where he was from…? He was from Osaka! From Osaka, Japan!

Sasuke's hold tightened on his clothing, his knuckles whitening from the force of which he clenched his fist as he glared at the blonde.

"Where is the Naruto from this world?"

Naruto's head spun. The Naruto from this world? He was Naruto! He'd already made that clear. He had no idea what the raven was talking about and the questions made his head spin.

He focused on answering the only question that he'd been able to make sense of, twisting slightly to loosen the uncomfortable hold the other had on his clothes.

"I–I'm from Osaka!" He stammered, stressing to answer the angry Uchiha's questions. "O–Osaka, Japan!"

The raven's brows furrowed, confusion flashing behind his eyes as he didn't recognize the names of the places the blonde had mentioned.

"L–Like I said! I don't know how I got here!" Naruto continued, resigning to his confusing situation and just letting stuff off his heavy chest. "I don't even know where I am, I just – I just woke up in a cave, and then I met you and – and I don't understand anything that is going on!"

Naruto didn't know if the other pitied the desperate tone in his voice or just couldn't stand him freaking out, but the raven finally released his shirt and let him go.

He stumbled slightly on his shaking legs but managed to remain upright in front of his lover's perfect copy.

The other pondered in silence for a while, his facial expression hard and unreadable to the blonde. He was unused to see the raven so emotionless and his heart throbbed painfully when the thought crossed his mind.

Then the cold onyx eyes shifted to him, looking at him impassively and without any trace of compassion.

"You're in the Fire Country. This is the main village, Konohagakure, and this is your apartment."

Naruto stared at the other with confusion swirling in his eyes. Fire Country? He'd never heard of a country with such a name before. And Konohagakure? He found it to be a strange name of a village or city, and neither that told him anything of his whereabouts.

And wait, this was _his_ apartment? He didn't have an apartment in the Fire Country in some place called Konohagaku – _something_! He'd never even heard of the place before!

His eyes darted around the small hallway again and he glanced past the other male's slightly more slender built towards the other room he could see from where he was stood. Nothing looked familiar and he didn't recognize anything around him.

It was, not unlike everything else in this world, save for the person standing across from him, completely unfamiliar.

The raven was the only thing Naruto had seen so far since his awakening that he recognized. Someone he knew.

But at the same time, he didn't know this raven at all.

This Sasuke was callous and intimidating, very much unlike the caring and playfull raven Naruto held dear. The way they acted was entirely different and nothing alike, which made it painfully obvious that even though the male standing in front of him was the spitting image of his lover he wasn't Naruto's most cherished person.

And it was difficult to have your loved one standing right there, just an arms length away, within your grasp, but being unable to do anything. It wounded the blonde.

He couldn't reach out and trace the other's arm with his fingertips. He couldn't pull the other into a comforting hug and forget that he had woken up in an unknown and scary place. He couldn't grab his lover's face and press his lips against his in a soft and tender kiss, even though he so, so desperately wanted to.

He felt his heart tug at him, urging him to touch and hold Sasuke, but he fought his urges and stayed put.

The other's gaze was enough to make him hesitate. The familiar, beautiful onyx eyes held none of the affectionate warmth they usually did when they looked at him, and Naruto's heart ached.

He didn't know what to do.

He felt lost in this world full of strange places, and the only thing he could hold onto was the twisted version of his lover that had grabbed him by the collar twice and almost killed him, and while that wasn't so comforting, it was all that he had.

He was pulled from his thoughts when the raven swiftly pushed past him and went for the door.

Naruto quickly spun around and glued his eyes to the other's back, his heart sticking in his throat.

What was he doing?

Sasuke swiftly turned the handle and pushed the door open. Naruto felt a wave of panic wash over him. Was Sasuke leaving? _Why?_ Where was he going?

The raven paused for a second and looked over his shoulder, fixing the blonde with a glare.

"Don't do anything." He warned with enmity, his tone holding silent promises of pain if the blonde were to disobey him. With that parting, he turned around to leave.

Naruto startled, his heart beating furiously within his chest.

 _No._

He didn't want the other to leave him.

Sasuke was all that he had in this unfamiliar world; he couldn't let the other abandon him!

As if struck by lightning, Naruto flew into action, reaching after the other.

"Wait!" He called desperately.

He managed to wrap his arms around the other male, catching and stopping him just outside the threshold. The blonde wasted no time and firmly hugged the familiar body close to his own, burying his face in the other's neck and momentarily forgetting all about the fact that the raven wasn't his Sasuke as he basked in the touch.

From just feeling his lover in his arms, all stress left his body and Naruto breathed a sigh of relief as his heart soared within his chest. Comforting warmth spread throughout his body and into his very fingertips, grounding him and giving him a sense of security.

His heart settled into a firm, steady rhythm, calming his senses.

"Don't leave me." He whispered into the other's back, wrapping his arms further around the other, finding bliss in the embrace.

All he could think of was Sasuke. All he could feel and smell was Sasuke. All of it – _Sasuke._ His Sasuke.

But it wasn't.

And Naruto would soon be reminded of that heartbreaking fact.

From one second to another, Naruto's world was flipped upside down. A sharp pain flew through his shoulder blade when he slammed into the small step within his hallway, a pained shout leaving his lips before he could even comprehend what had happened. Gasping for air he rolled to the side, doubling in on himself as he wrapped his arms around his abdomen, wheezing while tears flooded his eyes. He couldn't breathe.

The raven had moved with inhumane speed and delivered an extremely powerful blow to the blonde's solar plexus that had sent him flying backwards from the force and crashing in the hall.

Naruto was unable to stand. He still chipped for air, his vision wet and blurry as he coughed violently, his knuckles turning white as he hugged himself.

He wasn't even able to turn his head and look towards the raven standing in his doorway, but he was able to sense the other's scalding glare on his person and the waves of repulsion directed towards him washing off the other's body.

His eyes stung and his throat felt raw. The pain wrecking his body was unbearable.

He couldn't believe what strength the other possessed.

When the raven spoke, his words were tainted with such weighted malice that they clawed at the blonde and tore his heart into a million pieces.

"Don't you _ever_ touch me again."

Naruto struggled to speak.

"Sa…s'ke…" He managed, his voice raspy and pleading, pleading for the other to stay. But the raven was already gone.

Naruto tried to bite back the sobs that threatened to rock his body and curled in on himself further on the floor of the tiny hall.

He felt completely alone.

* * *

While spending a few minutes catching his breath, Naruto had managed to calm himself down a bit. He had to assemble his thoughts and properly assess his situation, and he'd realised that freaking out about his relationship with the Sasuke from this world wasn't going to help him solve his predicament in the least.

He took a deep breath through his nose and straightened up, tilting his neck back to let the wind cool his head as he collected his thoughts.

So he'd run away from Sakura, but how did that solve anything?

He was still stuck in this strange, terrible, twisted world where he and Sasuke were supposedly "lovers", and had no clue as to how he'd gotten there, why he was there, where he was, and how he'd return to his own world.

"' _Two idiots in love' is what I like to call you."_

He felt heat pool in his cheeks, his face flushing scarlet in an instant as Sakura's words repeated inside his head. Feeling extremely disturbed and embarrassed by the concept, Naruto hid his face in his hands, groaning in discontent. What the hell was wrong with this world?

… What was he going to do now?

It was true that the raven held a special place in his heart – he always would – but their relationship held no elements of the sort of affection two romantically involved individuals' would. Just the image of himself and the raven in a romantic setting was absurd and confusing to the blonde and made his head spin.

The two of them had always mostly communicated through their fists, and after their last brawl that had ended in Naruto's victory the blonde had thought (or hoped) that they could finally understand one another and rebuild their friendship from scratch, but he'd been wrong. He knew the Uchiha was one to hold grudges, and it quickly became clear that he held one against the blonde from the moment he'd returned to the village. Their interactions had been reduced to the minimal amount needed to complete missions whenever they ended up on the same team, and all other times they came face to face, the Uchiha gave the blonde the silent treatment and didn't even as much as acknowledge him. Naruto was lucky if he got an occasional glance from the other from time to time, but even then, the onyx eyes were distant and cold.

It was difficult for the blonde. He wanted Sasuke to be content, to feel at home and welcomed in the village. He wanted him to be able to open his heart and not distance himself from everyone and everything with disdain. God knew the male had experienced the cold of hatred enough in his life already, and Naruto hated to see the familiar onyx eyes seethe with dark, subdued emotions he could do nothing to eradicate.

They were damaged and so was their relationship. It was complicated, and because of that, Naruto couldn't even consider the idea of them acting or being anywhere near affectionate towards each other seriously. They were barely on speaking terms, and so, the prospect of 'lovers' was far too unimaginable to the blonde. Something like reaching the raven's heart was impossible, to him at least.

But in this world, the raven was different. Naruto had seen no deep feelings of resentment or anger when his gaze had met the onyx eyes earlier that day, and there had been no animosity present in the other's aura when he'd smiled upon spotting the blonde in the kitchen-doorway. He'd looked very… peaceful.

Yes, the Uchiha was very different in this world. So different from the one Naruto knew that instead of the tense relationship that he was used to, they appeared to be something as intimate as lovers.

Shit.

Lowering his hands from covering his face Naruto stared blindly at the street beneath his feet. So what was he going to do now?

He had yet to find a way to escape this morphed reality, and he came up with nothing no matter how much he thought of a way to return to his own world. He drew a blank each time he tried to find an explanation to his situation and there was nothing more he could do at the moment. He was stuck right where he was.

The blonde heaved a sigh and looked up. For the first time since his mad rush had come to an end he gazed properly at his surroundings. He'd stopped at the corner of a small square. In the middle was a small park for kids to play in; it had a swing, a small climbing frame, as well as a tiny sandbox. Around the square stood a few lonely benches and trees, the sight of their green leaves rustling in the wind giving the blonde a sense of comfort as they reminded him of the many trees in Konoha. However, this wasn't Konoha, and he was far away from home. The realisation brought forth a twinge of sad longing in the blonde's heart. He wanted to go home.

Turning his neck around in different directions, Naruto's blue eyes scanned the unfamiliar buildings towering around him. The sun had begun to set and the light had the buildings casting tall, ominous shadows on the ground around the blonde.

He swallowed as he begun to grow nervous.

He had no idea where he was. He hadn't been paying attention to the houses or the streets while he'd been running, and looking around now, everything appeared unrecognisable and intimidating to the blonde.

How far had he gotten? He had no idea. He'd just been desperate to get as far away from Sakura's place as possible that he hadn't cared for where he went and had just run as far as his body had been able to take him. Stupidly, he hadn't kept his eyes open to his surroundings, and now he realised that he was utterly and completely lost.

He had no idea where he was. He was lost and alone in a world he couldn't make any sense of. Naruto started to grow uneasy.

Where did he go from there? It wasn't like he had a set destination, nor did he have any idea how to solve his problem and get back to his own world. He couldn't even find his way back to the pink-hair.

… Should he go back?

Running into a city he knew nothing of might have been a dumb idea on the blonde's part. Now he was stood there, having no idea what to do with himself or where to go.

Finding his way back seemed to be his best option. If he went back, there would be the familiar faces of Sakura and Sasuke and perhaps they could somehow help him find a clue on how to return to his reality, or he could venture into the concrete jungle on his own without any idea where to go or what to do and try to figure everything out on his own. He realised he preferred to have the comfort of his old team-mates being nearby than being all on his own. Even though they weren't like themselves from the real world, they were still familiar and the only thing he'd recognised in the world so far.

The thought of returning to where they were was comforting, even though he found their existence and this world strange and disturbing. But did he really have a choice? He was stuck there, and the only hope he had was that he would maybe be able to find a clue within them.

He'd made up his mind.

The only problem was, he realised as he looked around, that he had no idea in which direction he was supposed to head.

From which direction had he come? The blonde's worry increased as his eyes darted from the intimidating buildings to the confusing streets, all of which appeared unfamiliar to him. His mind began to race.

Shit.

Shit, shit, _shit._

Where had he come from? Was it from his left? Behind? Did that building look familiar? Had he passed it on his way?

Quickly he realised he had no clue in which direction he was supposed to head if he wanted to go back to the pink-hair's place, and it was unsettling.

Furrowing his brows, Naruto decided to take a chance and trust his instincts. They were telling him to head down the road on his left, and so he did. He hoped his subconscious was providing his instincts with images of the things he'd passed on his way and hopefully leading him in the right direction.

As he walked, his worry continued to grow.

Had he kept running in a straight line? Or did he take a turn somewhere? Did he cross a street? Had he passed that building over there?

He kept walking and as the minutes increased, so did his uncertainty of that he was on the right track. After ten minutes, he could no longer stop his mind from considering the frightening possibility that he was lost.

He'd picked up his pace and he swallowed nervously as his heart thumped loudly in his ears.

Had he been here? Had he run down this street? Was that house familiar? Had he gone past this pole?

Panic was slowly, but surely grabbing hold of him as his blue eyes desperately darted around, searching for anything that would appear familiar. Except for his own whereabouts, the sun was quickly descending, leaving him yet another thing to worry about. What would he do if it got dark? It would highly minimize his chances of finding his way back. In that case, what would he do? Where would he go?

He tried to shake those unsettling thoughts from his mind and focused on just finding his way back.

 _Come on! Worry about that later, for now, just focus on finding your way back!_ He berated himself mentally and pushed on. But a tiny whisper form his inner voice kept him highly worried.

 _What if you don't…?_

Shit. Shit! Was he even heading in the right direction? What if he was going the wrong way and with every step headed further and further away from where he'd woken up? Naruto had no idea how he would be able to tell since he had no idea where he even was!

The sun painted the buildings with an orange glow, and Naruto bit his lip as he gazed ahead. Had he run down this road? Shit, he had no idea… He couldn't tell.

Would he even be able to find his way back?

Just as the blonde was on the verge of giving up and submit to his own terrified thoughts, his ears picked up on someone calling his name in the distance. His heart jumped in his chest and he slowed down, coming to a halt. Hastily he looked around, but failed to spot the source of the voice.

Then it called again, and this time, Naruto could pinpoint from which direction it had come. He looked over his shoulder and almost choked on his own tongue in relief when he spotted the familiar raven running towards him in the sunset. It was Sasuke. Sasuke had found him.

"Naruto!"

Naruto hadn't thought he would feel as relieved as he did to see the other again since that morning, but he couldn't help the feeling from surging through him, his heart skipping and his tense muscles relaxing slightly when the raven called his name. A breath he hadn't known he'd been holding escaped him. He wasn't lost. Sasuke had found him. _Thank god_ , he thought.

As the raven quickly neared him, Naruto became able to spot the other's lively expression. Sasuke looked upset and relieved at the same time, his eyes holding a certain desperate shine as they clung to the blonde's face as he ran towards him. Naruto's brows furrowed in confusion. Why was Sasuke looking at him like that? He grew even more confused when the raven's relieved expression morphed into one of blazing anger in the final steps before he finally reached the blonde, his hand shooting out, wrapping around the blonde's wrist in a painful grasp and pulling harshly at him.

The onyx orbs blazed, and Sasuke looked absolutely furious.

"What the fuck are you doing?" He roared, the blonde's mouth stupidly falling open in surprise of the raven's directed anger. Naruto blinked, not a single sound managing to escape his lips.

"Where the fuck have you been?" The raven continued, his eyes seeming to search for something in the blonde's stunned gaze. "Do you have any idea – _any idea_ – how worried I've been?" Sasuke was clearly very upset with him, his voice trembling with a mixture of relief and anger, the latter emotion carrying most of his words. His eyes were shining with emotions Naruto didn't dare decipher, his heart sticking in his throat as they bore into him. "How worried Sakura has been? How worried you made us – huh?"

Sasuke's grip hurt slightly, but the blonde was too surprised by the raven's outburst to pay any actual mind to it, not even as the raven shook him while he continued to shout at him.

"What did you think I felt when Sakura called me and told me you just took off? When she told me she had no idea where you went, and we couldn't reach you on your phone?" Naruto realised the raven was hurt, and when Sasuke pushed him in the chest he understood that the other was trembling because he had been scared. He was dumbstruck. Never had he seen Sasuke with such a wild and frightened expression before.

"Why _the fuck_ didn't you answer our calls?" The shaken Uchiha roared at him, his words going straight over Naruto's head, the blonde only paying mind to the raven's upset state. Sasuke… had been worried over him? Was he scared because of the blonde? … Why?

His brows furrowed slightly at Sasuke's words. Phone…? What phone? The blonde didn't have a phone; besides, those things were too big to carry around, weren't they? Why would he have a phone?

He made an attempt to speak, licking his lips before parting them.

"Sasuke –"

But the raven cut him off.

"Is this some sort of joke to you?" He shouted, his shoulders stiff and raised high, his voice sounding so hurt it shocked the blonde into silence.

"We were scared shitless! We had no idea where you went and you weren't answering out calls!" Naruto froze when he saw the slight sheen of water in the other's eyes. Was Sasuke… Was Sasuke crying? Although it seemed to be tears out of pure frustration or relief, Naruto was still paralysed to the spot by the strange sight. He couldn't believe his eyes.

"Naruto, just – Fuck…!" The raven quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeve before straightening up. He took a sharp breath with his nose, his eyes closed, and slowly breathed out through his mouth. He then looked down, seeming to have successfully calmed himself a little.

"I was so fucking worried." He admitted and Naruto's heart missed a beat, a lump lodging in his throat and rendering him silent. He was completely shocked by Sasuke's reaction; he couldn't believe it. This Sasuke was so upset he was literally trembling – all because he'd been worried about the blonde. Naruto had no idea how he should react.

He was used to Sasuke shouting at him, punching him, fighting him, and threatening to kill him. He was used to the raven not caring, giving him the cold shoulder and belittling him. He was used to mean words and sharp glares. He was not used to the raven caring; worrying about him, trembling and almost crying because he'd been so scared because the blonde had suddenly disappeared and they hadn't been able to find him. Naruto wasn't used to the raven so obviously caring for him, and he had no idea how to deal with it.

Sasuke swiftly whipped some sort of small device from his pocket and pressed some buttons before putting the small device to his ear and momentarily turning his body away from the blonde staring at him. It didn't take long before something happened.

"Sakura, hey –! Sch – Sch, it's okay, Sakura – Sakura, I found him." It appeared the raven had in some way gotten in contact with the pink-hair through the small device, confusing Naruto further about the world he was currently in.

"– Yes. Yes, he's alright." The raven's voice had almost completely regained its smoothness – the desperation and tremble it had previously held gone. Instead he sounded tired and brought a hand up to cover his face as he talked with the pink-hair. " – Yeah. Thank you. No, he – … Yeah. Thank you, Sakura. I'll talk to you tomorrow." The raven murmured a farewell before removing the device from his ear and flipping it closed again, putting it back in his pocket. He turned to Naruto once more and the blonde swallowed, steeling himself, anticipating another wave of scolding. However, the raven didn't meet his eyes, only surprising the blonde by reaching out and taking a firm hold of his hand.

"Come on. We're going home." Sasuke's voice was strained, but decisive, leaving no room for the blonde to argue as he turned around and begun to tug the blonde behind him in the direction of their apartment.

Naruto blushed deep red from the unusual contact, his heart speeding up within his chest as he paid unnecessary attention to the sensation of the other's fingers wrapped around his. He could feel his entire face burning, even the tips of his ears feeling warmer than normal. He also noted that the raven's hand was slightly warmer than his own, the feeling oddly comforting, but awkward nonetheless.

He couldn't believe he was stumbling after Sasuke holding his hand. His heart felt strangely constricted, every beat aching slightly in his chest with every hurried step they took. The sensation was strange, and Naruto felt slightly uncomfortable and embarrassed by it as they went along. Holding hands with the raven was something he couldn't do – to him, it was very unnerving and unfathomable. But even so, Naruto couldn't find it in himself to pull his hand free from the other's grasp and silently followed behind the other male.

His blue eyes clung to the back of the familiar yet completely unfamiliar raven in front of him, trying to understand the other male. In this world Sasuke deeply cared for the blonde, it was undeniable. It seemed that those affections ran deeper than the blonde could have ever imagined – so deep that Sasuke had almost cried with relief when he'd found him. This Sasuke had worried about him. This Sasuke had come looking for him.

"' _Two idiot's in love' is what I like to call you!"_ Sakura's words once again echoed through his head and Naruto tried to swallow around the aching lump that had formed in his throat.

He didn't dare think it, but within him he knew that this Sasuke possibly even loved him. And it only made the lump in his throat ache further.

How could this world possibly be real?

No matter his conflicting feelings, Naruto didn't pull away. Instead he let their fingers remain intertwined, his face burning as he allowed the other male to pull him along down the streets, past the many tall and intimidating buildings of the unfamiliar world he'd found himself in, and towards their shared apartment.

* * *

Naruto refused to move. He laid buried beneath the duvet of the single bed in the apartment and just prayed that he would return home soon.

He'd remained on the floor of the hallway for a good few minutes after the raven had left, just recovering himself. It'd taken quite some time before breathing had no longer hurt, and even longer before he'd been able to actually move and climb onto his feet. Afterwards he'd slowly made his way into the apartment, finding that it was a tiny one-roomer. The single room held the bed he was currently laid on, standing opposite of the hallway, a small kitchen alongside the wall on the same side as the entrance, and what appeared to be a door leading onto a small balcony on the right-most wall. Above the bed, on the wall, sat a two-framed, simple window, and to the left of the hallway, on the same side as the entrance, was a door the blonde had discovered lead to a small washing-room, dually serving as a sort of wardrobe. Beneath the foot of the bed, a bit further into the middle of the room stood a small table and two chairs.

It was a small apartment, only meant for one person, having room for little else other than the person living there. And apparently, that was him.

Naruto had already felt utterly exhausted at that point, his energy having been drained by the many emotions he'd felt over the course of only twenty-four hours, so he'd simply walked up to the bed, lifted the blanket, and crawled beneath it, shutting everything around him out. He'd turned in on himself and reaffirmed what he already knew; he was not in his world. Somehow, he'd gone to sleep and woken up in this godforsaken, unknown world where Sasuke hated him and his life was a mess. He'd just wished to return to his own world, and curled in on himself in silence.

That's how he'd spent the last hours; immobile inside of his safe castle, pretending that nothing was wrong. But everything was wrong, and Naruto knew he couldn't remain beneath the duvet for an eternity.

When he finally emerged he noted that it had gotten dark outside. Sitting in the bed he could see the moon shining brightly over the rooftops in the sky outside the door leading out onto the tiny balcony he had yet to use. His stomach ached and Naruto frowned. He had no idea when the last time he ate something was. But he couldn't find the energy – less than that, an appetite – to make something to eat. He glanced impassively at the refrigerator before he fell back onto the bed.

He felt hopeless. He didn't know what to do about his predicament, and the ache within his heart from his interactions with this world's Sasuke was prominent with every beat.

He didn't know if the universe was playing some sort of nasty trick on him, but if it were, the blonde found it just too cruel. He didn't know what to do, so instead he gave up. He closed his eyes and waited to drift into sleep. He prayed that when he awoke, he would magically be in his own bed, in his own apartment, and find his own Sasuke sleeping beside him. Naruto hoped with all of his heart, and fell into a deep slumber.

The eerie sensation of being watched pulled the blonde from his sleep. His vision was bleary as he looked around, blinking sluggishly to clear his sight. The room was cast in shadows and it was still dark outside. He furrowed his brows. It was still in the middle of the night. That meant he couldn't have drifted off for very long.

Now awake, he felt clearly how someone was watching him, the uneasy feeling sending shivers down his arms. His gaze shifted to the window and he startled when he spotted someone sitting there.

Shooting up into sitting position on the bed, the blonde just barely managed to recognise the figure before he let out an embarrassing scream. Thankfully he halted himself in time, but the sudden fright had caused his heartbeat to pick up drastically and he drew a sharp breath.

The moonlight cast an ominous glow over the raven sitting in his windowsill, shadowing most of his features, but illuminating the onyx eyes that were focused on the blonde. Naruto was unable to read the other's expression in the dark, but his heart skipped a beat nonetheless.

Instinctively he wanted to throw himself out of the bed and put as much distance as possible between himself and the frightening raven (because of what had happened last time he'd seen him), but the blonde remained put, stunned by the Uchiha's presence.

He opened his mouth but failed to find his voice. Why was Sasuke there? Had he been watching over him? Just when Naruto had been one hundred percent certain this world's Sasuke completely despised him. … Could it be that that wasn't entirely true?

But as soon as the raven saw him awake he swung his legs over the edge of the blonde's window, turning to leave.

Naruto's chest tightened when he realised the other was leaving him again.

"Stop!" He was surprised when his voice came out so strong, but when the other headed to his command he felt determination begin to build up within him. He steeled his expression and challenged the other's cold gaze when the raven looked at him over his shoulder.

"Wait." Naruto said to the familiar face of his lover. His heart drummed nervously within his chest as his body remembered all too well the sensational pain he'd been in only hours prior because of the male in front of him. But he couldn't let his chance slip. Sasuke was there. Naruto didn't know why the raven had returned, but he would be a fool if he didn't try and figure his situation out with the other's help.

So he licked his lips and hurried to raise his hands.

"I won't touch you like last time," He swore, praying that the raven wouldn't abandon him a second time. He didn't think his heart could handle it. "Just… Please." He gazed into the other's eyes, stubbornly holding the Uchiha's stare.

"I need answers."

* * *

 _Poor Modern Naruto... Will he start standing up for himself? And also, Modern Sakura dropped the bombshell on Ninja Naruto! Lovers! And now he's getting conflicted... I don't think he knows how to properly deal with Modern Sasuke and all of his feelings... ;)_

 **Mey:** Aw chucks. It makes me glad to hear you're enjoying the story! Well, he panicked, pretty much. I mean, I think most people would if someone pointed a knife at you and demanded to know who you were. *Laughs* Yes, yes... How they'll return remains a mystery for now... Thank you for the review! I hope you'll continue to enjoy this story :)

 **Zyphrost:** Thank you. I find some parts of your review rather peculiar. You write that you thinks it's "universally accepted that Naruto is never nervous and if he is, he really isn't." I disagree with this. First of all, Naruto is a fictional character, and thus we only get to see as much of his character and personality as the story of the manga and 2D allows us to, and it's only from this _single view_ of the story that we get to see them. Therefore we cannot say how they "should be", but can only look at how they, as characters, _are_ portrayed in that single story. Now, this is a fanfiction, and just like everything else that exists outside of cannon, isn't cannon. Of course my portrayal of _Naruto_ will differ from the original Naruto of the manga - because that Naruto doesn't exist anywhere outside the manga itself. That said, I like (and try) to write from a more humanistic perspective when I write, and so I try to imagine how I would react if I found myself in a similar situation to the character - and if I were to contently fall asleep in my own bed at home one night and then wake up in a cavern in the _middle of freaking nowhere_ , of course I would freak out. And if I were to meet someone who looked exactly like my boyfriend - _who was my boyfriend, but different from the one I know_ \- I would feel extremely uncomfortable and pained in his copy's presence. I would feel nervous, and scared, and I don't think I'm wrong when I assume that would be most people's reactions if they were to experience the same thing. I try to portray a human Naruto (not a comic, or manga version) and so I will disagree with you when you say that he doesn't get nervous, and even if he does, he doesn't. Everyone is capable of feeling nervous, and I believe Naruto is so as well. If you do not like the amount emotion in the story, I apologize, but in that case, this story probably isn't for you. There will be a lot of emotions - much, much more than it has up until this point, and if you find that reading about them feels "fake" to you, and "palpable", I'd advise you to stop - because this story revolves around what the two Naruto's are feeling, and the many emotions they will experience during their switch. And no, you're right, not even Sakura's feelings for Sasuke were this "exaggerated", _in the manga_ , because, simply put, it was an _action manga_ from start to finish and never focused on romance in the first place (like a shojou manga would.) However, I do believe Sakura's love for Sasuke in the manga was very strong and I'm pretty sure she had a lot of emotions, much like our two blonde's in this fic have and will continue to have because that's the way I've chosen to write this story. Ninja Sasuke's cold attitude could be experienced as exaggerated at times, but only because I want to really create a contrast for Modern Naruto who is used to dealing with a very loving raven. Finally, I would love for you to continue reading my story, but if it isn't to your tastes, perhaps it would be better if you didn't :) Thank you for the review! It was good, so far.

 **Guest:** Thank you! :) Reading your review got my spirits up! I'll keep working hard!

 **Lovelyladie15** : Oh, I'm glad to hear you think so! Knowing what people think really gets me excited! Ah, well, their reactions will be very different and somewhat problematic for our two blonde's... You'll just have to wait and see! ^^ Thank you for the review, and please continue to leave your opinion on this chapter as well!

 **HilmPanda:** That makes me happy to hear. Hehe, I'm not sure I'd say it has action... but there will be plenty of drama, alright ;) Thank you. As I mentioned in another reply, I do not think highly of my own writing, but it makes me really glad to know that you like it. Just... wow. Your review is just amazing. Thank you, thank you, thank you _so much_ for finding this story worth waiting for. I will really do my best to make it a good one! Your review really moved me and made me seriously happy :) thank you.

 **ProfessorPanjandrum:** Thank you! I hope you've enjoyed this one as well! Reviews like this, short and to the point make me really happy! It's nice to know you're being cheered on :) Once again, thank you! And I will :D

 **Drawn2Danger:** Hohoho! Yes, our two blonde's will probably suffer a lot before this story ends xD Modern Naruto has it though, simply because the Sasuke in front of him is such a contrast from what he's used to - imagine going from hugs and kisses to a knife to the throat in just a day! He'll be very lost in the ninja world as he does, in fact, not have any chakra. (Or, well, assuming everyone has chakra within them, he just has no idea of how to use or control it.) Hopefully he won't get hurt... Yes! Exactly! Ninja Naruto will have a difficult time with Modern Sasuke when he's going to tell him because to the raven he will just sound insane - like he's hit his head or something. Unfortunately, I will not have Modern Sasuke realise that Ninja Naruto isn't the Naruto from his world immediately for a few reasons (which I won't go into right now.) He will get a sense that he is not normal, but that will be in a different situation alltogether. I think this is realistic though. If my boyfriend suddenly came home and proclaimed that he was from another world, I wouldn't believe him. Ninja Naruto still has the Kyuubi. Poor Modern Naruto would probably have died if he'd suddenly been the carrier of the strongest Bijuu there is (besides the Juubi) Yes. Ninja Sasuke is more perceptive than Modern Sasuke, because, well, he's a ninja. Although, I don't think we can expect them to start "discussing" the problem straight away - mostly because Sasuke is an ass. As this chapter makes painfully obvious. Anyway, I'm glad you seem to be enjoying this story! Thank you for the wonderful review, I had a lot of fun reading it :) Please keep reading, and leave another review with your thoughts of this chapter if you'd like! Xoxo!

 **Killua17:** Yes. Poor, poor Naruto. Both of them. ...I guess? Mostly Modern Naruto though, if I say so myself. Ninja Naruto has it easy in comparison ;) Thank you for the review!

 **CherishAngel:** I'm glad to hear that! Yes, I've decided to keep writing this story, so please stick with me and keep reading it! :) I'll try to update as often as I can!

 **Asalea:** That makes me happy to hear! Yes, it will be continued :) From here on out, I'd like all of yours' help too to keep me inspired! Thank you for the review!

 **Kisa Touya:** Funny you would say that! I think this sort of story is pretty usual. Sure, it comes in many different shapes, but it's not that rare I think. I've seen it in other fandoms plenty of times! Here I've seen different versions already, such as Naruto and Sasuke switching bodies with each other, time traveling, etc. etc. But I'm glad you're enjoying it! :) Please keep reading and thank you for the review!

 **Shadeofblue:** Thank you! Yes. It was something I decided from the very beginning wouldn't happen, but I do want them all to bond in different ways with each other. Of course the plan is for the two Naruto's to switch back in the end, and then Modern Naruto will reunite with Modern Sasuke with lots of hugs and kisses - believe it! It's going to be so full of sappy, overwhelming love I'm not even sure how I'm supposed to be able to write it without throwing up rainbows and bunnies xD When it gets to the point where Modern Sasuke understands what sort of world Ninja Naruto comes from, I'm sure he will be very anxious. I think mostly because he'll find out that the him in the Ninja world isn't very nice. I think he will worry a lot. Maybe they will. Maybe they won't ;) I admit I have something planned out along those lines, but I'll see. Maybe, when we near the end of the story I will feel that I don't want them to become romantically involved and just make up and go back to being friends - but I don't know. I can't say how things will turn out for now - it's still a long way to go until then :) In the meantime, please continue to read this story! I really enjoyed your review - one of my favourites :) And I'd love to hear from you again regarding the development of the story! So please keep reading, and thank you for the wonderful review! Xoxo! (PS. I like your username.)

* * *

 **A/N:** Wow guys! I'll say it one more time... WOW! Thank you all so much for the amazing (and many!) reviews! Like I mentioned at the top of the chapter, reading them have never not succeeded in making my day - so this past week has been a real blast! (Something I needed as work has been very stressful)

As most of you've probably understood by now I've decided to continue the story :) _Thanks to all of you!_ You've really helped keep me inspired, and I would like to ask all of you to keep doing so! I love reading your reviews and hear your opinions/thoughts about the story, so please keep them coming! The more reviews I get, the more inspired I get, and the faster I will update - so really, post a simple smiley face and harvest the fruit yourselves ;)

Now that I've made the decision to continue this story seriously I'm very excited, but also nervous. This is my first story that will be ongoing and also rather _long._ (I hope I'll be able to see it to it's end!) I have the general idea and story planned out, but not everything is crystal clear or very detailed, and so I'd like to ask you guys for assistance! So if there's something/anything you'd like to see or that you'd like to happen between Modern Naruto and Ninja Sasuke, or Ninja Naruto and Modern Sasuke, please - don't be shy - just post a review and I'll read it and perhaps become inspired to add your idea to the story :) Like I said, the general story is planned out, but it could do with some angsty or fluffy interactions (any sort of interaction is welcome!) So if, for example, you'd like to see Modern Sasuke take Ninja Naruto on a date, just post a review and tell me so and maybe it will happen :)

And I know, I know. I feel like I need to address the part of this chapter where Ninja Sasuke hits Modern Naruto - before you all get very offended and/or start hating on him, please consider that Sasuke is used to a Naruto who is equal in strength with himself and who has quick reflexes, _and_ who would have probably been able to avoid and/or block the punch he delivered (if not also have hit back just as hard.) No, he's not going to be abusive, and also, no, Modern Naruto isn't going to be as pathetic or weak throughout the rest of the story as he appears here in the beginning. He is an Uzumaki, after all. He'll begin standing up for himself soon enough. It's just that he's still very disoriented and uncertain about himself and confused about the raven who is nothing like the one he loves. But more about that later on. Sasuke wasn't really thinking when he lashed out (all too used to the Ninja Naruto) and didn't really mean for his hit to hurt the other so. But of course, he is serious. He does not like some clingy Naruto from another world touching him unnecessarily. *Sigh* _He has so many issues..._

You're really starting to see the difference between the two raven's and the two worlds in this chapter, no?

 **Anyway! Once again, thank you all _so much_ for reading, following, favouring and reviewing this story. Now we're all in it for the long run, so let's all help each other out and enjoy ourselves together! Please leave a review for this chapter as well, and I'll be inspired to start on the next one faster ;) Cheers!**

 _PS. Is it just me, or are the chapters getting longer...? Maybe it's too early to say... but so far this is the longest one. You don't mind, do you? •—•''' Xoxo!  
_


	5. Chapter 4

**Hi guys!** I'm sorry you've had to wait so long for the fourth chapter! I've just gotten back from my two-week vacation, on which I didn't bring my computer along, and I'm so, so, so, so, _so sorry!_ Your comments have been so amazing and I'm so thankful for the continued support you're giving this story! Thank you for the patience!

Once again, sorry for the wait! Here's chapter four. Enjoy~!

* * *

 **In another life  
** Chapter four.

* * *

When the raven finally released his hand, Naruto couldn't help breathing a small sigh of relief. They had stayed connected throughout the entire walk through the city, and Naruto had found himself unable to still the rapid beating of his heart or cool his flaming cheeks the entire way.

Now Sasuke had finally let his hand go and was unlocking the door to their apartment. The raven had remained silent the entire time, but the blonde had taken note of the tight grip of which he'd held his hand on the way.

During their silent walk Naruto had been left alone with his thoughts.

He'd really realised how different this world was from his own when he'd seen the lively expressions on the raven's face. This Sasuke really cared for him. He'd been able to feel the relief wash off the other's body when he'd found him, as well as been able to spot the emotions of worry, anger, and slight fright that had flashed in the familiar onyx eyes as they had looked into his. He could tell clearly that this Sasuke had been scared and worried when he'd disappeared, but what moved the blonde the most was the simple fact that the other had gone looking for him.

Sasuke had searched for him.

Naruto had been completely lost, and probably wouldn't have found his way back if it hadn't been for the other male, and for that, Naruto was extremely grateful.

As he'd gazed upon the others back the entire way, he'd thought of the Sasuke from his world. The Sasuke from his world would never have come searching for him if he disappeared. He was sure the other probably wouldn't even care. Naruto would chase after the raven in a heartbeat, much like he had during all those years back then, but Sasuke wouldn't as much as worry about him, he knew. And it wounded him, in a sense, deep within, to know that the Sasuke he cared for so, didn't care for him.

And that was why, even more so, the Sasuke of this world moved him. Sakura had said that they were lovers in this world – something the blonde still had a hard time swallowing – and Naruto could see the strong emotions of the Sasuke in front of him clearly; the emotions of strong affection. He'd seen it reflected in the other's eyes when he'd looked at him, and the emotions had been so raw, so real, that Naruto no longer found himself able to call the world he was in unreal.

Because there was no way a genjutsu, no matter how great, could fabricate emotions so strong and deep as the one's that the Sasuke in front of him expressed. There existed no justsu so great, and it scared Naruto. Because that had to mean that this world, this Sasuke, and their relationship, was real. He didn't know how to handle that fact.

This Sasuke cared for him, because to this Sasuke, in this world, they were lovers. The raven obviously loved Naruto, but not him. There must have been another Naruto, a Naruto from this world, the one that this Sasuke loved and whom probably loved this Sasuke back, but it wasn't the blonde currently stood behind the other as he unlocked their door, and for some reason, Naruto felt bad.

On behalf of the raven in front of him who believed that the blonde was his lover and who displayed his heart and feelings to the blonde in faith, Naruto felt guilty for not being the one this Sasuke believed him to be. He wasn't his lover, and seeing the other's affection towards him had Naruto's heart twinge. It was wrong. He wasn't supposed to be the one receiving this affection.

When the door was opened he followed Sasuke inside and softly closed it behind them. He never thought he'd feel relieved to come back to the apartment he'd found alien and strange only the very same morning. Now, he looked at the small living room with a sense of safety; he was back some place that at least was a little familiar. He breathed a small sigh of relief.

The raven made swift work of his shoes, and neatly hung his jacket on the hooks on the wall to their left before stepping into the small apartment.

 _Their apartment_ , Naruto's mind reminded him, increasing his sense of guilt.

The blonde remained standing in the hall, hesitating, uncertain what to do with himself or how to proceed. If this world was real, and the Sasuke in front of him was real, the other's feelings towards him were real as well, but they were misdirected and Naruto wasn't the blonde meant to receive them. It didn't sit right with him.

Uncomfortable and guilty, he stayed glued to his spot and didn't copy the other in removing his shoes. His heart beat nervously and he swallowed around the lump in his throat, his thoughts reeling within his head.

What did he do now? He didn't know how to solve his situation, but he knew he had to tell the raven that he wasn't the Naruto he thought. It was the right thing to do, and he was determined.

He steeled himself and looked at the raven that still had his back to him. He calmed his nerves and took a breath. He would do this. If this world was real, there had to be a Naruto who belonged to this world; who belonged with this Sasuke.

And it wasn't him.

For some reason, his hand felt very empty.

The Sasuke in front of him looked tired and stressed, making Naruto feel even more guilty since he understood that it was because of him the other heaved a heavy sigh and dragged his hands over his face and through his hair. He swallowed. He had to tell the other now.

So he licked his lips and parted them.

"Sasuke –" He started, his voice cutting off when the other turned to look at him and their eyes met. The onyx eyes were looking so deeply into his, the blonde's heart skipped a beat and he lost track. Shit. No. He had to do this. _Concentrate!_ He berated himself within his mind.

But what did he say? How did he tell this Sasuke that he wasn't the Naruto from this world?

Another thought struck the blonde.

Actually… _Where was_ the Naruto from this world? If he was there, and the other Naruto wasn't… Where was he? Suddenly the issue of his presence in this world seemed much bigger than he had previously anticipated.

But he couldn't lose track now; he had to focus on the raven in front of him. So Naruto shook his head, disregarding those thoughts for a later time and refocused on the Sasuke in front of him whom was patiently waiting for him to continue. Naruto opened his mouth once more.

"I'm sorry –" The other male opened his mouth to say something, but the blonde continued, not giving him the chance. "– But there's something I need to say."

Sasuke frowned lightly, looking frustrated and confused at the blonde, but he patiently remained silent, allowing Naruto to continue. Naruto took a shaky breath to steady his racing heartbeat. Okay. He could do this. He looked into the confused onyx eyes.

"Sasuke –" He started, the guilt and pity he felt for the other reflecting in his blue eyes. His heart fluttered nervously, but Naruto was determined. He didn't want for this Sasuke to suffer because of him. He had to make the other understand.

So he took a breath through his nose and steeled himself.

He met the raven's gaze.

"I'm not the one you think I am."

* * *

Naruto's heart was beating loudly inside his ears in the tense silence that rested between him and the familiar raven in his window as he waited with anticipation for the other to say something. He was nervous, and his hands clutched the duvet of the bed tightly while sweat began to prickle over his skin.

He admitted he was terrified that the other would simply brush him off, disregard him and abandon him. This version of Sasuke that was so unlike the one he was used to intimidated him, but at the same time he still felt a desperate need to be close to the other. He found a pathetic comfort from gazing upon his lover's familiar face as well as from being in the other's presence, and even though he knew, _even though he knew_ , that this Sasuke wasn't his Sasuke, his heart still pulled at him as he looked into the other's eyes. He cursed himself for feeling that way, but he couldn't help his feelings. He loved Sasuke, after all. Even as this Sasuke was cold and distant, he loved him still. It was something he couldn't control.

He didn't waver as he determinedly held the other's gaze. He couldn't read the onyx eyes, but he stubbornly refused to be the one to break their contact. He wasn't sure how he was able to act so daring, because on the inside he was trembling, but it seemed he had a certain confidence that he could make the other stay if he really tried.

Apparently his determination seemed to pay off, because Sasuke was the first to look away and break their eye contact. For a split second Naruto thought the other would turn around and leave, but he was extremely relieved (and a tiny bit surprised) when the raven smoothly swung his legs over the windowsill and gracefully jumped into the apartment.

His mouth fell open as his eyes fallowed the other's elegant movements. When the raven's feet easily landed on the wooden floor the contact was completely soundless. His body's movements were fluid in a way Naruto couldn't recognize. How were movements like these even possible?

In the shadow of the night, the raven appeared almost like a deadly panther as he straightened out in the middle of the apartment, the moonlight from the balcony-door illuminating his silhouette, creating a blue, cold glow around him. The sight was spellbinding, and Naruto found himself unable to tear his eyes from the other.

When Sasuke turned his head and looked at him with icy detachment the blonde's heart jumped nervously in his chest and he swallowed. He hadn't actually believed the other would stay, and now the onyx eyes were staring at him intently, waiting for his next cause of action.

Only thing was; Naruto had no idea what he was supposed to say. No matter how many times he opened and closed his mouth, he couldn't find his voice. His thoughts raced, trying to grasp anything he could say to the other.

He wanted answers. Where was he and why? How had he gotten there? What was this place? What was this world? What was he doing there? Who was the raven here? He had no idea where to start.

Sasuke swiftly pulled one of the chairs from the table and turned in so that it was facing the bed. Then he gracefully sat down and leaned back, crossing his arms and fixing the blonde with a hard stare. Naruto swallowed and shrunk away from the biting onyx eyes.

"If there's something you wish to say, now's your chance to speak." The raven said cooly, an air of nonchalance emitting from his posture.

He appeared disinterested, but he was there, wasn't he? He too needed something out of this conversation; the blonde decided it was safe to assume so, at least. So he met the other's stare, furrowing his brows in response to the other's indifference. He swallowed and parted his lips, his mind desperately searching for where he was supposed to begin.

"First of all…" He said, clearing his throat embarrassingly. He focused on the familiar onyx eyes. "You said that his place was called…" He traced off, expectantly looking to the other. Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Konohagakure."

"Right…" Naruto said awkwardly, scrunching his nose. He still found the name of the place extremely odd. "Konohagakure of the… Fire country, was it?" The Uchiha remained silent so Naruto assumed he'd been correct. Feeling surer of himself, he straightened up.

"I don't know what you're thinking, but what I'm telling you is true. I am not from here." He said with confidence, voicing the thoughts he'd had up until that point. "I come from a place called Osaka, a city located in Japan. I have no idea how I got here, or what this place is. I just woke up here, and I just want to go back to my own world. And that's the truth."

 _Please_ , he added in his mind as he gazed into the onyx eyes across from him. _Believe me_.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and you're Uchiha Sasuke." He paused when he caught a twitch of the other's brow, but the raven didn't appear to have any need to cut him off, so Naruto continued.

"I –" He considered his choice of wording carefully.

"I know you."

There was no reaction from the other. Sasuke remained motionless in the same position he'd had since he sat down, and Naruto hesitated.

"… Another you, from my world."

His voice came out softer as the image of his lover flashed across his mind. The raven across from him looked so exactly like the one he knew, but at the same time, when Naruto compared them, they were nothing alike.

"You look just like him." He whispered, feeling his throat constrict because of the lump that had formed there. He shook his head, trying to refocus his thoughts.

"A-and I know you might not believe me, or think that I'm crazy, but it doesn't really matter, because it's true." He didn't know why, but he needed this Sasuke to believe him. It was a desperation pulling at him, pushing him to continue. At the moment he was clinging to the image of this Sasuke, praying that he would understand.

"I'm not from this world." Naruto repeated, looking pleadingly into the familiar, dark eyes. "I need to go back." His voice almost broke, and so the blonde opted to fall into silence afterwards in fear that he would get too emotional to be able to keep a straight face for the rest of their conversation. So he pressed his lips together, looked at the other, and waited.

Sasuke remained silent for a long time, his gaze searching the blonde's eyes thoroughly. His expression remained stoic and gave nothing away of what he was thinking beneath the surface, making the blonde nervous. Naruto began to fidget with the cover of the bed as the seconds ticked by.

Why wasn't Sasuke saying anything? Did he believe him, or not? Did he think the blonde was crazy? Was he going to leave him again? Or maybe… kill him?

A million of questions tried to make themselves heard at the same time within the blonde's mind. Sasuke remained unreadable, and it began to frustrate him.

Ever since he'd awoken, this Sasuke had treated him poorly and disregarded his feelings completely. The blonde felt lost and alone, and he needed something or someone to help him. Help him understand what was going on and why he was suddenly caught in a never-ending nightmare where a complete jerk took the shape of his lover. He deserved some answers, damn it.

He hadn't asked to wake up there. He just wanted to go home.

Letting his frustrations get the better of him, the blonde felt his temper flare up at the other's continuous silence, until he'd finally had enough and exploded.

"Say something!" He demanded with a frustrated shout, his hands trembling from the force of which he fisted the sheets between his fingers.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes towards the blonde, and Naruto quickly regretted having raised his voice towards the raven. He'd temporarily forgotten that this Sasuke was very capable of greatly hurting and even murdering another person, and now his heart froze in fear. He was about to open his mouth and attempt to apologize for his temper when the other beat him to it.

"I believe you." The raven's voice was smooth and cool, showing no sign of anger at the blonde's outburst. Rather it seemed from the other male's expression that hadn't cared for it, his face remaining in a distant, unreadable mask as his onyx eyes bore into the blonde's.

Naruto's mouth was left hanging open and he blinked. It took him a few seconds to register what Sasuke had said, and then his heart did a flip inside his chest. He believed him? Sasuke – this impassive, ominous Sasuke who made Naruto's heart ache with longing for his lover whenever he looked at him – had said he believed him. He believed him.

Naruto was so overwhelmed with relief he could've almost have cried. Instead the air in his lungs left him in a relieved 'whoosh' and a choked sound escaped him.

Sasuke believed him.

He quickly brought his arm up to wipe away the oncoming tears from his eyes before they could properly take shape, heaving a tired, shaky sigh. This whole mess was giving him a headache, but at least the raven across from him believed him. Now he only had to figure out how he could go home, and then he'd be able to see his Sasuke again. He knitted his hands and raised his head to look at the other male through the darkness.

"If so, then –"

"I can't help you."

The raven's cold voice felt like a harsh slap to Naruto's face. He stared dumbly at the other for a few seconds and then the blonde felt his cheeks heat in anger.

"Why not?" He demanded furiously. He thought the other had said he believed him. Why wouldn't this Sasuke help him if he understood the situation?

Naruto wasn't from this world, he didn't know how he'd gotten there, but he was able to strongly feel that he didn't belong there. He belonged in his world, where the Uchiha he loved lived. Just thinking of his lover made Naruto's heart ache, and he couldn't bear to look into the empty eyes of the raven sat across from him any longer than he absolutely had to.

He wanted to go back.

He wanted to go back to his Sasuke, the one who looked at him with warmth and affection. He wanted to go back so badly it hurt, and yet the Sasuke looming in the dark in front of him refused to help him. The throbbing pain in his chest couldn't stand for it.

Why wouldn't this Sasuke help him?

"Why?" He repeated, spitting the word towards the impassive raven, his blue eyes blazing furiously with emotion in the dark. His anger didn't seem to affect the other male, and this bothered the blonde and only managed to make him even more upset. How could the other remain so unfazed even though he could see in how much turmoil the blonde was? How frustrated he was with his situation?

Finally Sasuke moved. He let his eyes slid shut as he straightened up in the chair, leaning forwards until his elbows neatly rested atop his knees, knitting his hands together and finally leaning his chin on their backs. The pose reminded the blonde of the one his lover usually had when he was thinking deeply about something or paying great attention to the lecturers in university. He took a sharp breath through his nose and attempted to control the sudden surge of emotions within him.

No. This wasn't his Sasuke. _Stop._ He had to tell his racing heart, but it was in vain. Because the tiny detail reminded him so much of the raven he knew, his heart grew confused and beat forcefully against his ribcage. _It's not him._

The blonde bit his lower lip and was glad when the physical pain distracted him from the ache in his chest.

The onyx eyes slid open and fixed Naruto with a cool glare.

"I know you're not the moron from this world." The raven's voice was steady and smooth, yet there was power behind his words, his tone sending shivers down Naruto's spine. He spoke cooly, his voice leaving no indication of any sort of attachment to the person he was speaking of. It was calm and emotionless, and for some reason, it stung the blonde.

"I could tell straight away."

Naruto perked up at this, a small flame of hope igniting within his chest as he looked to the other male. So, he did believe him, and he had even been able to tell that Naruto wasn't the one from this world straight away.

The raven had mentioned it earlier when he'd clutched the blonde's collar in the hall.

" _Where is the Naruto from this world?"_

After Sasuke had left and the blonde had crawled into bed to pity himself, he'd replayed the words over and over inside his head. It hadn't taken his mind long before it began to attempt to wrap itself around his dilemma and connect what the raven had said with the world he'd found himself in.

From the way Sasuke had put it, Naruto had figured that there was supposed to be another him. It seemed almost unbelievable, but the more he'd thought about it, the more sense had he been able to make of his situation. This wasn't his world, and this wasn't his Sasuke. It was nothing like the place where he lived or the raven he slept beside every night; those two things were obvious to him.

So then, how had he ended up there? That was still a mystery he couldn't find an answer to, no matter how many minutes he spent mulling it over in his mind. But it appeared that even though this wasn't the Sasuke he knew, this Sasuke seemed to know him – or at least know _an_ Uzumaki Naruto. _Not him_ , he'd thought, but _another_ Naruto.

Slowly but surely his mind had begun figuring some parts out. There existed a Naruto in this world, one that had a different relationship with a different Sasuke, and somehow, he, Naruto, had ended up in the other Naruto's place, suddenly waking up in this world, confused and lost.

He couldn't know for sure that was what had happened, but it was the only conclusion he'd reached that seemed at least a tiny bit possible. He'd been unable to find something else to explain his situation, and so, he'd started to believe in that idea, even as it was strange and far-fetched.

When the raven had said he'd been able to tell that Naruto hadn't been the Naruto from this world straight away, the blonde's heart skipped a beat.

If this Sasuke had been able to tell that he wasn't the blonde from this world, then maybe… Could it be that this Sasuke was close to the other Naruto after all?

 _Maybe_ , Naruto thought hopefully, swallowing in anticipation. _Maybe_ the raven didn't dislike him as much as he'd made it seem.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, a frown appearing across his features, and even though it was a paranoid thought, Naruto wondered if it was because the other had been able to read his mind.

"You were acting strange during the mission, but I assumed it was because of the poison we later found out resided in your body at the time." Sasuke spoke, his dark eyes never leaving the blonde's blue eyes as he did. "But when I attempted to read your chakra levels, I found none. That's when I realised you weren't the moron from this world."

A small voice in Naruto's mind wondered why the raven insisted on calling the other him a 'moron', and another part of him felt a tiny bit offended on his other self's behalf. But he was too focused on the raven's words to pay much attention to those parts of him.

His brows furrowed at the alien concepts. What was 'chakra'? Apparently, it was something the other could read and had been able to tell that he wasn't from this world after doing so. His head throbbed slightly in complaint over the confusing information.

He also felt a bit disappointed that the other hadn't been able to tell that he wasn't the Naruto from this world simply by looking at him. He guessed that had been stupid of him to think; that the Naruto and Sasuke of this world had such a strong connection that the raven would have been able to do that.

"A-ah…" He said, attempting to withhold his great confusion from being readable in his voice, but failing miserably. Then, Naruto frowned, his brows knitting together between his eyes.

What was this Sasuke's relationship to the Naruto of this world? It appeared as if he disliked him greatly, but then again, the raven was there, wasn't he? Even though he'd literally thrown him off earlier in the day, Naruto had still woken up and found the other watching over him while he slept. Didn't that point to that he cared for the blonde in some way, even if only a little? Why else would the raven be there?

Naruto didn't know how he'd ended up the cavern where he'd awoken, but he would've probably died in the forest if Sasuke hadn't appeared back then.

Why had Sasuke appeared?

Perhaps… Had he perhaps been looking for him?

Then it was the fact that the raven, even though he'd treated the blonde harshly and left him behind in the woods, had come back and rescued him again shortly after when he'd been in danger.

And then, if Naruto had heard the nurse correctly, the Uchiha had also been the one to bring him back to the village, and after that he'd agreed to look after the blonde, even though he had already at that point suspected him to be someone else.

To say that the blonde was confused about their relationship was a huge understatement. He couldn't understand the Sasuke from this world, but for some reason he felt that he wanted to make an attempt.

Meanwhile, as the blonde had stayed silent in deep contemplation with himself, the raven had simply watched him. Growing out of patience to wait for the blonde to gather himself, the raven made a motion to stand.

"You should figure out how to return to your world as soon as possible." Was all he said before he turned and started to head for the balcony door.

Naruto's head snapped up as he heard the other get up from the chair. A small spark of panic shot through him.

"W-wait!" He called, struggling to release himself from the thick duvet he'd been sitting beneath and get to his feet.

For a third time, his plea halted the raven in his step and he turned to send the blonde a disinterested look. Feeling awkward and unsure what to do with himself, Naruto stood beside the bed.

He wouldn't make the mistake of going even remotely near the other like he had last time – he knew what would happen if he did. Instead he had to make the other stay through his words alone, a task he found extremely difficult with this Sasuke.

The other looked at him passively.

Naruto didn't understand.

"A – Aren't you going to help me?" He stressed, his eyes searching the familiar features of the raven's face for any sign that could tell him what the other was thinking or why he was acting the way he was. Not so surprisingly, he was unable to find any.

Naruto knew he couldn't do this on his own. He had no idea how he'd gotten there to begin with, and he wasn't very smart. This Sasuke seemed similar enough to the one from his world to be just as clever, and Naruto really hoped the other would assist him in finding a solution to the presented problem. He wouldn't be able to figure this world out on his own. He needed Sasuke to cooperate with him.

The raven patiently met his gaze, his face remaining calm and lacking of any apparent emotions.

"I told you before." He stated simply, indifferent to the panic in the blonde's blue eyes. Naruto's jaw dropped.

Just as he'd thought there maybe had existed some kind of softness within the other – had he been completely mistaken?

"But why? Why won't you help me?" He gestured towards the raven with his arms, his heart beating furiously inside his chest. He was desperate.

He didn't understand this Sasuke's mind-track. Why wouldn't he help the blonde? Did he not want for the Naruto of this world to return? He just wanted to go home! But he couldn't figure out how on his own.

How could the raven be so insensitive to his feelings?

The Uchiha's eyes narrowed as they regarded him, the onyx orbs turning hard an icy, causing Naruto to flinch when they bore into him. The air around the raven had begun to shift slightly, the slight hostility emitting from the other male causing the hairs on Naruto's arms to stand on end. Sweat began to prickle his skin, and the blonde swallowed, his nerves getting the better of him.

Cautiously he met the other's stony gaze. Sasuke's face had an impassive expression as he spoke, his words sharp and cold, cutting into Naruto's heart when he did.

"Because it's not my problem, is it?"

The blonde was paralysed in shock, staring disbelievingly at the shadowed figure of the familiar male through the darkness of the apartment.

He couldn't believe how easily the other had said that. He couldn't wrap his head around how the other's voice had carried so smoothly with the lack of any emotion at all.

He really didn't understand.

His wide eyes were glued to the raven's face as he simply just stood there, not believing what the other had said. Did he really mean that? Did the Sasuke of this world really mean what he'd just said?

Searching the stoic, onyx eyes, Naruto's heart sank as he realised that the raven had. He swallowed around the lump in his throat, his nails digging into his palms as he struggled to control himself. His arms trembled by his sides as he looked into the raven's void eyes. He couldn't believe it.

"Don't you care about him?" His voice was pained and shaking, barely above a whisper, but Naruto knew the other could hear him clearly through the silent night. The raven's face hardened from the blonde's words, his eyes darkening further, a bitter expression twisting his face into an intimidating scowl.

"No." He coldly bit out, the word harsh and bitter to the blonde's ears.

Naruto felt as if someone had dumped a bucket full of ice over his head, his entire body going freezing cold in an instant. His heart plummeted further in his chest.

The indifferent attitude of the raven across from him wounded the blonde. Hearing the other say he didn't care about him hurt more than he had anticipated it would. He knew this wasn't his Sasuke: that it wasn't his lover saying the harsh words that stabbed into his heart, but he was still greatly affected by them.

His eyes trembled with hurt as he accusingly stared at the raven.

"How can you say that…?" He whispered, the frustration he felt – both directed at himself for being so easily wounded by the other's words, and at the raven for his foul attitude – twisting his face. Sasuke remained silent, his expression hard and unreadable.

Naruto felt how all hope he'd had about the raven across from him helping him find a way to go back to his own world flew out the window to his left. Invisible hands clawed at his heart, the throbbing organ sending pain through his chest with each beat.

There was no possibility that this Sasuke was going to help him, none at all, because he _didn't even care_.

Naruto wasn't sure if his fists were shaking because he was angry, or because he felt like he wanted to cry. He couldn't pinpoint why the other's attitude upset him so, it just did. This Sasuke was selfish and careless, and Naruto hated it. He couldn't stand the Sasuke of this world.

"You're nothing like the Sasuke I know."

He didn't know why he'd felt a need to mention it, but it felt great that he did. For some reason it reassured him confirm it out loud.

This raven was nothing like his lover. They were not the same.

It comforted the blonde, but at the same time, it made him even more depressed, because he was stuck there, in this world, with the hateful Sasuke across from him instead of in the arms of his lover back at home, and it made him want to scream and pull his hair out.

His words didn't even draw a reaction from the raven who simply stared back at him with dispassion. He stayed for a few more seconds, then he swiftly spun around and made his way to the balcony door. He pushed the door open and stepped out into the chill night, not casting the blonde one last glance before he climbed onto the railing and disappeared in the darkness.

Naruto was left standing alone in the middle of the tiny apartment, his feelings swirling wildly within him and his mind in turmoil.

* * *

Sasuke stared impassively at the blonde, his face blank and expressionless. Naruto's heart was beating nervously against his ribcage and he tried to refrain from bouncing nervously on his heels under the other's scrutinising stare.

The raven said nothing, and Naruto grew even more nervous as the seconds dragged by since he'd spoken.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the raven's brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed into a suspecting glare.

"… What do you mean?" He asked slowly, his voice soft and controlled, but Naruto was able to make out the impatient undertone hidden beneath the cautious words. He hurried to attempt an explanation that the raven would be able to understand.

"A – Ah, Uh… I… W – Well, you see – Uhm… Thing is that –!"

He was failing miserably.

The raven's eyes narrowed further, and Naruto spotted the flash of anger in them as the other glowered at him.

"Naruto…" The way the raven said his name made it sound very much like a warning, and Naruto could tell the other male's mood was taking a turn for the worse.

"I swear to God, if you've gotten us involved in something dangerous…"* It was obvious the raven was trying very hard to control himself and holding himself back from simply exploding at the blonde right then and there.

The blonde quickly brought his hands up and waved them in front of him.

"No!" He stressed hurriedly, attempting to calm the other male down. "No!"

So far his "explanation" had only managed to make the Uchiha even more upset, and he hadn't even told him anything yet.

He worried the other would simply blow up at him if he took one wrong step, and frankly, the thought scared him. He knew how to deal with the resentment of the raven from his world, but he had no idea how to deal with a raven that was upset with him for entirely different reasons. He just didn't know how to face the Sasuke from this world properly – the one who apparently harboured strong feelings of affection towards him.

He just wanted to clear the misunderstanding about who he was – that he wasn't the Naruto from this world – as quickly as possible, and spare the other raven from suffering because of him any further.

But even so, he couldn't find the right words. Where did he even begin? He thought his opening line had been brilliant, but the seething raven across from him seemed to disagree.

Had he picked the wrong choice of words? Was it too late to take it back and start over? But how could he say it any better than that? Naruto's mind reeled, his thoughts spinning wildly in his head and making him feel slightly dizzy, and it didn't help his situation.

The Sasuke from this world seemed to relax slightly at his expressive reaction, but his shoulders remained stiff and rigid. For a second the blonde thought he would start scolding him again, but to his surprise, the Uchiha didn't. Instead he heaved a heavy sigh and covered his face with one of his hands.

Looking at the other, Naruto could almost see the stress and exhaustion emitting from the raven's person in waves. The lump in his throat returned and he suddenly felt extremely guilty. The raven seemed to be calming himself down. After a few moments in silence he spoke, his voice sounding very, very tired.

"Naruto, I don't have the energy to deal with this right now." He said.

His voice was strained and his words forced to be spoken in a calm manner, telling the blonde how hard the other was struggling to keep his cool. The raven lifted his head and looked at him, and Naruto almost choked on the air in his lungs. The onyx eyes held a very pained, disapointed look in them as they bore into him. The look fixed Naruto to his spot and he found himself rendered speechless by the other's apparent suffering.

"I'm very upset with you." Sasuke said, his onyx eyes staring into Naruto's very soul, shaking the blonde with their overwhelming emotions. Naruto could hear the dissatisfaction clearly in the other's voice.

He was completely shell-shocked.

He'd never seen such a wounded expression on the raven's face before and was completely stunned. He didn't know how to react or what to say, so he just stood there, frozen to the spot and stared back into the raven's pained eyes.

Sasuke was angry with him, he could tell. But the other was also sad, and tired, and realising it was because of him those emotions swam within the other's eyes made Naruto's stomach twist painfully.

He hadn't meant to frighten the raven when he'd run away. Frankly, he hadn't even thought about the other's feelings regarding him at all.

And now he was stood there, feeling extremely regretful of his actions but unable to fix anything.

The blonde had no idea how to proceed.

Sasuke closed his eyes and took a steadying breath with his nose before he opened them again, no longer looking at the blonde when he did.

"I'm going to bed." He murmured exasperatedly, turning around. He hesitated for a moments, and then said, "We'll talk tomorrow." Before he left the blonde alone in the hallway.

He shut the bedroom door softly behind him, the handle clicking once, and then Naruto was stood in complete silence.

The blonde remained in his spot, his fists clenched at his sides as his thoughts reeled. He hadn't been able to say anything. Even as the raven had stood there, right in front of him, the look the other had sent him had robbed the blonde of his voice and he'd stayed silent.

He didn't understand why. Why hadn't he said anything? Why hadn't he told the raven how it was?

But what actually bothered the blonde was his racing heart.

The aching look Sasuke had given him had set his chest on fire. He felt so guilty, but most of all he felt bad. Bad because this Sasuke apparently truly seemed to cherish him, and for some reason that wounded the blonde.

The look of relief on the raven's face when he'd found the blonde earlier that evening had burnt itself into his memory. The joy, the worry, the happiness, the relief – all of the emotions the raven's eyes had swam with overwhelmed the blonde.

He didn't know what to think of it.

He had understood that in this world he and Sasuke were lovers, but he wasn't from this world.

He wasn't the blonde the raven thought he was when he had looked at him and sent him that warm smile this morning.

He wasn't the Naruto the raven had desperately searched and worried for when he'd suddenly up and left. He wasn't the Naruto of this world, and it wasn't really him the other looked at with those emotions, he knew that.

And yet, he was unable to calm himself down.

He thought of the feeling of the raven's fingers tightly wrapped around his and felt a twinge of pain in his chest. He looked down, staring at the open palm of his empty hand.

In his world, Sasuke would never willingly touch him like that. If it wasn't with a knife or a fist, the raven wouldn't come in contact with the blonde at all, and Naruto had never realised that it saddened him before.

It wasn't like he wanted to raven to touch him, that wasn't it at all.

It was just the fact that even the idea of being close at all was so strongly defied by the raven that it made the blonde hurt within. He wanted to be close to the raven so desperately, but Sasuke wouldn't let him. He kept pushing and pushing him away, and now they were so far apart the blonde had almost given up.

But here, in this world, the raven was nothing like that. He was the one who had reached out to the blonde, and it moved Naruto. For some reason, it made his chest feel tight and warm.

But he knew that he didn't belong in this world, and he had to go back. But to do that, he needed the other's help.

He closed his hand, clenching it into a fist. He felt determined to clear up the mistake with this world's Sasuke, and then they could figure his situation out together.

Glancing at the closed bedroom door, Naruto felt his bravery falter slightly. He contemplated within himself, but realised that he wasn't able to make himself walk up to the door, into the bedroom and confront the other. He didn't think he'd be able to face the upset raven a second time.

So what did he do?

Glancing around the apartment his eyes fixed on the red couch. There was no way he would sleep together with the raven in… _their_ … bed, and the couch was big and soft enough for him to lie on.

Carefully stepping out of his shoes he placed them neatly on the shoe shelf before he silently (as to not make any sound that would disturb the Uchiha) made his way over to and sat down on the comfortable-enough piece of furniture.

He was completely exhausted both mentally and physically because of all the experiences he'd had throughout the day. He'd only woken up in this world that same morning, but it felt as if he'd been there for an entire week already.

Naruto leaned his head back over the back of the couch and closed his eyes. A few seconds passed, and then he opened them again. With a sigh he sat up again and folded his hands together, leaning forwards and resting his elbows on his knees.

He was tired, but he couldn't sleep. There were too many questions spinning around in his head for him to be able to find some rest.

He would talk to Sasuke.

What would he say?

He had to be more direct than last time, as his last attempt had not worked, but he still had to explain the situation properly to increase the chance of the raven believing him, if only a little. He believed it was important for the other to realise what had happened. The sooner, the better, because then they'd be able to figure out together how he could return home.

But now wasn't a good time. The raven needed to rest. He too had had a stressful finish on his day (because of the blonde), so Naruto thought he owed him that much.

He decided to wait. While the raven slept, hopefully he'd be able to clear his mind a little and have a good speech prepared for when the other awoke.

Yes, he'd make use of the time he had and make sure they were on the same page the next day.

And so, while thinking deeply about his situation, the blonde waited with a nervously fluttering heart.

He didn't realise he'd dozed off until the quiet sound of the bedroom door opening in the morning awoke him. Alert, his eyes flew open and he found himself staring at the bookcase across from him beside the strange screen, which purpose he still hadn't been able to figure out. Light was peaking through the windows to his left and hit the wall across from him, brightening the living room.

It took his mind a few seconds to clear the confusion he felt upon seeing the unfamiliar room before everything caught up to him and he remembered where he was.

The soft sound of Sasuke's feet moving across the floor reached his ears and the blonde made haste to sit up from his sideways slumped position. Just as he turned his head to face the direction of the small corridor, the raven appeared around the corner and their eyes met.

Naruto's heart made a nervous flip in his chest.

The raven's bangs were messily scattered across his forehead (more so than usual), and his expression held a much more softer look than it had the previous evening. His half-lidded, onyx eyes were unusually dark, the tender gaze pulling at Naruto and almost drawing him in to lose himself in their endless depth as they stared into his own anxious eyes.

He was wearing soft, warm-toned, grey sweatpants and a simple dark, blue-ish, long armed tee that casually hung over his slim built. Even though the clothes were loose fitting the raven looked ever so graceful, his sheer handsomeness causing him to look good in pretty much anything he wore.

The raven didn't say anything, and simply looked at him. Naruto found himself once again unable to find his voice in the other's presence and simply stared back.

Neither made a sound or move to break the still silence that rested between them.

After a long while spent silently communicating only through eye contact and attempting to read each other, the raven was the first to move, simply crossing his arms and casually leaning against the living room wall, his eyes closing and immediately finding the blonde's once he re-opened them.

He didn't look as tense or upset as he had the night before as he regarded the blonde.

"Hey." He greeted finally. His voice was gentle and warm, smoothly caressing the insides of Naruto's ears and causing a shiver to travel down the blonde's back.

Naruto swallowed, feeling the nervousness dance within him.

"Hey…" He responded uncertainly, unsure about the situation. He'd thought long and hard about what he would say to Sasuke once he woke up the night before, but now, looking at the raven's familiar face, he couldn't remember what he'd decided on.

They lapsed into another silence in which the blonde anxiously tried to foresee what would transpire between them and the raven seemed to wait for the blonde to say something. The air between them was a little bit tense and awkward (to the blonde, at least.)

Eventually, Sasuke sighed softly, apparently slightly disappointed that the blonde hadn't made any attempt to speak first. So he looked at him and took the floor himself.

"About yesterday…" He began and Naruto could feel his heart speed up. He didn't understand why this Sasuke made him so nervous, but he did. The raven continued.

"I'm still upset with you." He said and nailed the blonde with a look. Naruto found the guilt from the night before crawl it's way back into his heart and weigh him down slightly. "And I expect you to apologise."

Naruto guessed the raven deserved one. He didn't know the blonde wasn't from his world yet, so to him it had appeared as if his lover suddenly had flipped out the evening before, ran off, disappeared and not answered his calls, and then hadn't even told him why he'd done so. The blonde understood why the raven was upset with him. He was to blame for the fact that he still hadn't told the other about himself.

"Not only to me, but to Sakura as well." Sasuke's words were stern, but he didn't look the least as riled up as he had been yesterday. Instead he looked rather collected and calm, as if he'd almost gotten over the entire affair already.

Naruto found himself nodding numbly.

"Of course…" He said, finally finding his voice. He cleared his throat in hopes that it would come out stronger a second time. "Of course." Thankfully, it did.

The raven's eyes softened slightly, and Naruto saw his chance to speak his mind.

"Sasuke, actually–…"

"We were really worried. You really frightened us yesterday." Naruto's mouth dried when he met the dark eyes.

There it was again. The tender look that made the hair on his arms stand and his heart begin to flutter uncontrollably within his chest.

The one he knew wasn't really meant for him.

He had to make the other stop looking at him like that, or his heart wouldn't be able to handle it.

So he wet his lips and opened his mouth to speak, but the raven beat him to it.

"I love you."

And Naruto choked on the breath he'd just taken.

The words were spoken so softly, bordering to a whisper casually laced with genuine feelings of adoration, and the warmth within the other's eyes almost burnt the blonde as they gazed upon him.

The raven had uttered the words so easily, as if there really was nothing to it – as if it was the most obvious thing in the world for him to so casually express such serious and deep feelings towards the blonde. _As if it was completely natural for him to say something like that so simply._

Maybe in this world it was that easy for the raven to say those words to the blonde, because, after all, the Naruto and Sasuke from this world were lovers. Sakura had told Naruto so, and he knew that the raven in front of him wasn't really saying those three words to him, but to the other Naruto, the one that wasn't there. Naruto knew this.

And yet the raven's simple phrase had frozen him to his spot and managed to send his pulse sky-rocketing.

He could hear his rapid heartbeat clearly over his own thoughts, and feel his palms begin to sweat.

Sasuke's words were locked on repeat within his head.

" _I love you."_

" _I love you."_

" _I love you."_

He couldn't believe he'd heard the raven he knew so well utter those three words. It was unbelievable – something he'd never would have ever even imagined hearing the other say, and yet, he just had. The Sasuke stood in front of him had said that he loved him. And Naruto didn't know what to do with himself.

His heart was racing so fast it was threatening to beat out of his chest. He felt shocked, flustered and a little bit frightened all at the same time.

Why did it feel as if his chest would catch fire from the way the raven was looking at him?

No.

 _No_ , he reminded himself. _He's not looking at_ you.

For some reason it was very difficult for the blonde to tear his eyes away and break the eye contact he had with the other Sasuke, but he managed. He turned his head to the side and suddenly found the beige carpet very interesting to stare at. He could look at anything but the raven in the same room.

He tried to steady his heartbeat through controlling his breathing. He was surprised when he realised his hands were trembling. Had the other's words really shaken him so? He clenched his hands into fists. He had to tell him. He had to hurry and tell this Sasuke that he wasn't the Naruto he knew.

He sensed when the other moved closer to him. The blonde turned his head and looked up at the raven that was now standing beside the couch, gazing curiously at him.

"Is something the matter?" He questioned gently, having caught the troubled expression on the other's face, and Naruto's heart sank within his chest. It hurt that this Sasuke cared so much.

"Sasuke…" He said, but his voice died after he'd uttered the other's name. The dark eyes intently stared into his, the other male waiting patiently to hear what he had to say. Naruto let out a shaky breath. There was no going back now.

"There's something I need to tell you."

He saw the confusion and worry flash briefly in the other's eyes, and then the raven's brows furrowed lightly as he stared questioningly at the blonde. Naruto set his jaw, staring back at the other and secretly pleading this conversation would go smoothly. He could tell the other was becoming slightly uneasy with the serious atmosphere that started to take shape around them.

"… Okay." The other breathed finally, moving around the armrest and sitting down on the couch after the blonde had moved to the side and made space for him. Once he was seated he turned his body to face the other male and looked at him attentively.

"What is it?" Sasuke wondered and Naruto swallowed. He felt as if a weight had been placed within his chest and it was now weighing him down, a small sense of dread settling in the bottom his stomach as his pulse quickened nervously. But he had to proceed. It was now or never. So he inhaled sharply through his nose and steeled his shoulders.

"I'm not the one you think I am." He said, looking into the onyx eyes across from his own blue ones. Sasuke stared back at him, considering his words. He looked slightly bothered, a thin line apparent between his eyebrows as he regarded the blonde. The other male hesitated for a few seconds, but then he spoke.

"… What is that supposed to mean?" He wondered dubiously, suspicious of the blonde's statement. Naruto brought a hand up to rub at the back of his neck, as if he'd be able to rid himself of his nerves by doing so.

"Well…" He began uncertainly. This was where he had to make a decision how to approach the subject. He decided to be direct and tell it to the raven like it was. Determined, he removed his hand from his neck and stared decisively into the other's eyes.

"Truth is, I'm not from this world." He said seriously, his eyes honest and unwavering.

The raven simply stared at him. He looked mildly surprised by the blonde's words, but the surprised expression was quickly replaced by a troubled frown, and they lapsed into a new silence.

Naruto tried to mediate the truth of his words through his eyes to the other, but Sasuke's expression remained hard as the seconds passed them by.

The blonde grew anxious as he stared at the other, realising with dread that things probably wouldn't go as smooth as he'd hoped. He could spot the disbelief in the other's sceptic gaze clearly. But he stood his ground.

"Naruto," The raven's voice was low and he sounded irritated. "Why are you doing this? Is this supposed to be a joke?" Naruto hastily shook his head, his blonde hair shifting with the quick movement.

"No! I'm being serious." He said, wanting the other to realise the situation quicker and trust him. The raven had to believe him. He had to make him. Sasuke's eyes narrowed and his scowl deepened.

"Naruto, I'm telling you, this joke is not funny. It wasn't funny yesterday, and it's not funny today – stop it, or I'm going to get angry for real." The threat was obvious in the other's voice. But even though his words were hard, it also sounded like a plea to the blonde.

"It's not a joke!" Naruto exclaimed, a defensive note taking tone in his voice. "I'm serious! Sasuke –" The blonde wanted the hard look in the other's eyes to disappear. "Look at me. I'm not the Naruto you know." After a while he straightened his back and explained clearly,

"My name's Uzumaki Naruto and I'm a Shinobi from the village Konohagakure, which lies in the Fire country. Truth is I was poisoned during a mission and lost consciousness. I don't know how, and I don't know why, but when I woke up, I was here. I don't know how I ended up here, but I'm telling you I know nothing about this world. I'm telling you the truth." He gazed determinately into the raven's eyes.

"And…" He traced off and licked his lips, hesitating. "And I need to go back to my own world." He continued.

"But I have no idea how to do that, because I'm not very smart or anything, and I've never been in this situation before – or heard of anyone who has, really, and–" The blonde realised he was rambling and felt his cheeks heat slightly in embarrassment. He glanced shyly at the other.

"I – I need your help." He admitted softly. "I need your help to go back to my world."

Now, because of their relationship in Naruto's world, the blonde was used to the raven taking him seriously. He and Sasuke never joked or messed around when it came to each other, but considered everything the other said and did with deadly seriousness. It was the way they had always been – very perceptive and attentive of each other. Even though their relationship was rocky (at best), they greatly respected one another.

So in Naruto's mind he had no doubt that the raven would believe him. He was aware that it was a different Sasuke sat in front of him, and therefore he was uncertain and nervous about how he should behave and act towards the other male, but he still trusted the other to believe in him.

However, instead of thinking things over, then nod and deal with the situation like the Sasuke from his world would have, this Sasuke simply stared at the blonde with his mouth agape and a disbelieving expression on his face.

Feeling like he might have lost the raven and needed to explain further, Naruto shifted anxiously on the couch and tried to meet the other's gaze.

"Sasuke –" He began. Then the blonde found out just how different the two ravens were from each other. Instead of remaining calm like the stoic shinobi, this Sasuke exploded.

"Naruto, just –!" The raven's face twisted in a grimace, his eyes squeezing shut as he gestured with his hands in a 'stop'-motion in front of himself, silencing whatever further explanation Naruto had had in mind. The raven got to his feet, practicly flying off the couch as if he'd been struck by lightning, and his onyx eyes blazed with anger when he met the blonde's gaze.

"Stop it!" He raised his voice, furiously staring at the blonde who looked extremely taken aback by his heated reaction. "Just stop it!" The raven's eyes were burning with emotion, some of which the blonde wasn't able to fully decipher. He looked furious, but at the same time his eyes held a certain wounded gleam…

Naruto didn't understand. Why did the raven look as if he'd been betrayed?

The blonde could only stare, paralysed in shock as Sasuke fumed.

"Why? Why are you doing this?" The raven's voice was laced with disappointment and hurt when he spoke, a desperation unfamiliar to the blonde tainting his words. "Do you think this is _funny?_ " He asked incredulously.

"Yesterday I was – Sakura, she – we were both terrified!" He shouted, the blonde able to read how upset the raven was through his piercing gaze. "You just up and disappeared – no explanation, _nothing_ – and we tried calling you maybe _50 times_ , and no one picked up! We both searched through half of the city for you!"

If Sasuke had been angry before, he was absolutely livid with the blonde now, his onyx eyes blazing with fury.

"And when we got home yesterday you didn't say anything! _Nothing!_ And now – now you're sitting here cracking some sort of lame _joke?!_ " He questioned indignantly. Naruto couldn't tear his eyes from the raven's gaze. He really looked as if he couldn't believe the blonde.

"Do you really not consider this to be serious?" He asked, gesturing with his arms. "It is serious!" He shouted. "I'm _very_ upset with you, and you're acting as if you don't even care about any of this!"

Sasuke's chest heaved when he was done screaming at the blonde and his hands were clenched into fists, trembling by the raven's sides, his irritation directed towards Naruto very obvious in his entire person. Naruto felt a tiny flash of panic shoot through him and hurried to try to mend the situation by defending himself.

"I'm not making any of this up!" The blonde felt a desperation pulling at him. Why wasn't this conversation going as he wanted it to?

He felt guilty, too. Hearing about the misery he put the raven from this world through the previous evening made his stomach knot. It wasn't as if he didn't care, as the raven had put it, it was just that he was unable to relate to anything in this world and couldn't for his life figure out what he was supposed to do in the situation he'd found himself in.

How could he be any clearer? He wasn't from this world, he wasn't the Naruto the raven thought he was, and he needed the other to assist him in figuring things out. What he didn't need was the other's fury.

When the raven's eyes only flashed hotter at his words the blonde brought his hands up and gestured with them.

"I swear!" He assured hastily. But whatever his attempts, his words only managed to make the other man more livid.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Sasuke shouted, not even considering the blonde's story to be even the tiniest bit true – because it sounded completely, and utterly insane. "I'm telling you to stop this!"

Naruto too stood from the couch then, levelling himself with the spitting raven.

"I'm not – !"

Whatever the blonde was about to say was cut short when the doorbell rung shrilly through the apartment, snaping both male's attention to the door in a split second. They stared at it as the ringing continued, the air in the apartment stiff and unpleasant.

"Sasuke-kun! Naruto!" It was Sakura. Three firm knocks sounded and then the doorbell rang once more.

When Naruto looked back to the raven he found that the other was staring at him. In the accusing dark orbs he also read anger and betrayal, the latter emotion causing a lump to form in his throat that ached when he attempted to swallow.

A part of him was pushing for him to apologise to the raven, but he refused to do so. After all, he wasn't in the wrong, but neither was the raven. Naruto just wanted for him to understand.

So he met the other's gaze with hopes that his unwavering determination would sway the other and make him believe him, but he had no such luck. Instead, when met by his stubborn stare, the raven's own eyes narrowed and he grind his teeth.

"Un-fucking-believable." He hissed when the blonde hadn't offered any sort of apology, then he abruptly turned on his heel and walked away from their conversation – either ending it, or putting it on hold for the moment, Naruto wasn't sure which one it was.

All he knew was that things between him and the Sasuke from this world were bad at the moment.

Sasuke didn't believe him.

What was he supposed to do now?

* * *

 _* It's not that Modern Sasuke thinks Naruto has a criminal record or anything, but it's a justified reaction to the way the blonde has been acting._

 **sova-chan:** Thank you! I'm happy to hear you don't mind when the chapters get so long. This chapter is a bit shorter than the last one, but I think I'll try to keep them around this length from now on. ( _Around 10k words_ ) Although I won't purposefully cut them at that length. I'm the type who just sort of writes and then realises how much I've written afterwards xD I like your metaphor for our blonde's. I think Modern Naruto does start to show himself as an Uzumaki in this chapter - I sort of want to cheer him on! _Don't give up! Fight! Screw that Sasuke! You're a strong, independent man! Whoooo!_ I'm glad you commented once again! Please keep enjoying yourself!

 **Killua17:** Haha, that'd be very expressive of him! Well... Let's just say he won't exactly be thrilled. Xoxo!

 **Drawn2Danger:** I'm glad to hear you don't mind. Last chapter was _suuuuuper_ long. It wasn't planned, it just happened. However, I think I'm going to keep the chapters around this length ( _~10k words_ ) from here on out. ( _Although, if they end up being longer, it's good to know people won't mind!_ ) Yes. He's heartbroken. Poor Modern Naruto. No! Definitely not! Although, 'cute' isn't exactly a word I would use... Terrifying is what Modern Naruto would say. Yes, exactly! Modern Naruto has it toughest mentally, I think, but Ninja Sasuke believes him immediately and thus they can actually (sort of) address the problem and take it head on, whilst, as shown in this chapter, Modern Sasuke just thinks Ninja Naruto has a really good tact for poorly timed jokes and blows up at him. Ninja Naruto really doesn't know how to handle the relationship he supposedly has with Modern Sasuke. Man, you're spot on about everything! Indeed, Modern Sasuke remains rather clueless. But it's understandable, and realistic in my opinion. I mean, if my boyfriend were to come home one day and declare that he was from another world, I would just think he was making a bad joke too. That's what it's like when you have an everyday life together - you get used to each other and don't always pay 100% attention to your partner since they're constantly at your side. I think this is what Modern Sasuke did in the morning, and it's perfectly normal. I'm so glad you love this story! I love you! Your comment really makes me motivated to just get on that chapter 5 as soon as possible! ( _AKA when my job allows it..._ ) Aaaaaaa, I'm so sorry! I've failed you! I swear I won't ever make you wait over two weeks ever again! (∏∆∏)

 **Mey:** ooooh, thank you! Really, you have no idea how moved I am from reading your comment. I too feel like Sakura is unfairly portrayed in a lot of fics, and it makes me glad that you think I've done her character justice. You should! He definitely needs a hug right now. Me too! I really, really, really want to finish it. Please keep supporting me! I don't think I can hear it enough - thank you, thank you, thank you, you wonderful person! No! please, ramble! I love when people ramble! I ramble all the time! (If you couldn't tell already... haha) Yes, here it is! I hope you'll like this one too!

 **Shadeofblue:** Thank me? _Thank you!_ I'm happy you're enjoying yourself! Modern Sasuke loves Naruto from the bottom of his heart. Ninja Naruto is very overwhelmed by this, I think. Oh my... I feel like we're very in sync, you and I... _Don't spoil yourself!_ Jokes aside, Ninja Naruto and Ninja Sasuke's relationship is a difficult subject. Maybe they will fall in love, maybe they won't. Maybe they'll just want to rekindle their lost friendship. I'm not sure what I want to do with the two of them yet. We'll cross that bridge once we get there! Ninja Sasuke; He has _so_ many issues _._ _Sigh..._ Yeah he does! Modern Naruto really is the one suffering the most because of this situation, I think XD Poor baby. Thank you again for the review darling! I hope you'll like this chapter too! Xoxo!

 **Guest:** I'm so happy to hear that! That's great! Yeah, I like to write from a humanistic perspective, and so I constantly try to imagine how I would feel in the situations I put my characters through and write from there. It's sort of slow, like you say, and focuses a lot on the emotional sides of our blondes, and I'm happy to hear you like it! I want people to sympathise with them, and I hope they are. Oh yes. He'll find out, alright ;) Thank you so much for your review! Please keep reading and supporting this story!

 **Save Me From Candy:** Wow, thank you! ✧(∏∑ ∏)✧ You have no idea how great of a compliment that is to be told! Really, thank you so much for writing that. Man, I'm so moved. I really hope you liked this chapter as well!

 **Mindless:** Thank you. Stop, you flatter me! We'll see ˆ˘ˆ Thank you for the review! Xoxo!

 **Asalea:** That's so good to hear! I actually love writing the parts between Modern Sasuke and Ninja Naruto, but schh, don't tell anyone. It's a secret! Hm, indeed! Modern Naruto probably will be forced to interact with other's he recognize from his own world in the Ninja Universe. But, truthfully, I don't want to bring in too many character's into the story (call me lazy, I embrace that part of myself, so I don't mind) but yes, he won't be able to hide in Ninja Naruto's apartment, and when he does meet other's from the Ninja Universe, it is true that Ninja Sasuke will think it's a nuisance. I love hearing your ideas! It does turn the wheels inside my head - thank you! Ah, I can't help but blush when people praise my writing - wah! Thank you so much for your review! (Again!) I hope you'll enjoy reading this chapter as well! Xoxo!

 **Akane-Rihime:** BOOM! Here it is! The next chapter! ... After a long-ass-f*cking while later. I'M SORRY! It wasn't ASAP at all... *cires in a corner* But thank you for waiting patiently!

* * *

 **A/N:** Once again, I am so sorry you had to wait this long guys! It makes me _so happy_ to receive all of your wonderful reviews and thoughts. They really do keep me motivated, so, please keep enjoying and supporting this story after this as well!

Modern Naruto is beginning to stand up for himself (albeit if only a little) in this chapter, but he's still sort of lost and hurting, and he can't figure the raven of his world out at all. Ninja Naruto on the other hand is struggling with Modern Sasuke and their supposed relationship - or, rather, he's freaking out the raven's affection towards him. They end up arguing and now Naruto has no idea what to do.

 _You all have no idea how ecstatic I get from reading your reviews. Really. I love you so much! Xoxo!_


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